To love a Hero
by cjb1990
Summary: Harry escaped the UK after the final battle and settled in the States. he met Tony Stark and fall in love. starts at the beginning of Iron Man with flashbacks SLASH TONY/HARRY HARRY/TONY m/m smut. M for slash and lemon REVIEW PLEASE! ps. first story ever to publish!
1. Black days remain Black days

Harry walked out of his bakery and coffeeshop into the hot late afternoon air of Malibu. He sighed, another day at the office so to speak. He still was getting used to living in the Muggle world, in America, in a place where the sun always shone. Yeah, it couldnt't have been a bigger change from Surrey England and Hogsmeade, Scotland than that. It had been years since he last had seen the island on the other side of the pond. He had no real inclination to ever return there either. All that waited there were memories of pain and death and the people that he couldn't save. Tomorrow it would be exactly ten years since the Battle of Hogwarts. The decade hadn't lessened the memories for Harry. He could still smell the blood, the despair. He could still hear Hermione screaming and blasting Fenrir Greyback off of Lavender, he could still hear Percy's cry for Fred thrumming against his eardrums.

It had been a pandemonium when he defeated Voldemort. All people saw was the hero, _their_ hero. No one wanted to hear that Harry wanted quiet in his life. No one wanted to see that Harry was dying under the burden of grief and guilt. Especially his friends. The Weasleys were grieving for one of their one. The twins had been ripped apart, and Harry could still feel his heart break when he remembered George in the months after his twin's death. There was no smile on his face, no mischievous spark in his eyes. George had dulled under the loss of his brother, his partner in crime. Harry felt the loss of Fred too, of course. But he felt like he could not say anything in the light of the pain Fred's death caused George and the other Weasleys.

Remus' and Tonks' deaths had hit him hard. He guessed he could have held it together if he could've taken care of little Teddy, like his appointment of godfather should've allowed. But Andromeda Tonks wanted to raise him herself, and had went to the Ministry and made a case for it. claiming that after all the death, fear and loss at such a young age, Harry couldn't be fit to raise an infant. Kingsley Shacklebolt had agreed, and Harry was forced into sessions with a Mind Healer at St Mungo's.

That would've been something good, a way to process everything he lost in his fight against Voldemort. All that went up in smoke when, after a session in which Harry had discussed his recent discovery of his sexuality, it had appeared on the front page of the paper. Hermione had been disgusted. She still held onto the values she was raised with by her Muggle parents. The Weasleys would've been okay with Harry being gay, were it not for Ginny. He had dated her in sixth year and she still clinged on to him, wanted to marry him. This made it all impossible for her. After the largest row Harry had ever participated in under the Burrow's roof, Mrs Weasley had thrown him out. He was not welcome anymore in the only house he had ever considered a home. He had went to Hogwarts, to professor McGonagall. She was the one who listened to him, and in a huge crying session he relieved his heart of every ache that was lingering there. In his old Head of House's arms he felt safe and lost at the same time. He didn't know what to do. it was then that the professor gave him the best advice ever. "Harry, you have nothing to prove, no one to consider in this anymore. Your friends turned out to be different than any one of us could have expected. So go! Go and start anew, cherish your good memories of the people you love and find your own path." It was not said in her usual brisk an no nonsense voice. Instead, her voice was soft and full of warmth, sympathy and heartache for the young man in her arms. Harry had looked up to her surprised. With a smile she squeezed his shoulder. "Go and find your happiness Harry. Just... don't forget this old lady." With a watery laugh he had nodded to her and promised that wherever he went in his life, he would keep in touch with here.

And he had go. Within a week he had a visum to settle in the States, packed all the belonings he still had and said his goodbyes. There were only three people that knew he had left; Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall and George Weasley. They all took Unbreakable Vows not to reveal where he had go. So two months after the ultimate defeat of Voldemort, he stood in the arrival hall for transcontinental portkeys at JFK airport. He had first stayed in New York and started to read; he doved into magical theory of all kind of subjects. He became well versed in the theory behind Charms, Transfiguration and Potions. He could be considered an expert when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts. After a year he couldn't stand the city of New York anymore and he had up and left and went to Michigan. Here, he became the neighbour of an old and sickly lady. Trying to help her in the last part of her life, he started to cook and bake for her. When she died, she left him a considerable sum of money (even if he was one of the richest men in the UK, he didn't advertise that particular fact about himself) and the instruction to open either a restaurant or a bakery, but that he couldn't let his talent go to waste. After a year and a half he moved again, going further west. He had ended up in South Dakota in a small town where he first tried his hand at opening his coffee and lunch corner. It became a huge success. Every morning and lunch hour, he had his business filled up with people. His success was broadcaste towards neighbouring towns, and after six months he had people waiting in line for a traditional British Sunday brunch, or a high tea.

He revelled in his baking. It kept his hands busy and his mind peaceful. It had been that way since the Dursleys, when his back felt like it was on fire because of the belt Vernon had used on him, cooking was a way to let his mind drift away from the pain. It remained the same. While he was busy with baking, cooking, or helping his customers, his mind was drifitng away from the pain that was still lingering in his conciousness. At night was when the pain returned as nightmares.

Harry had made good on his promise to Minerva, he had remained in contact with her. He wrote dutifully once a week, telling her about his customers in that week, a strange occurance, or a new theoretical hypothesis he had encountered in an obscure book written tree hundred years ago. Minerva on her part, kept him updated. At first the rebuilding of Hogwarts, the re-opening of Hogwarts, Kingsley being officially voted into office, Hermione and Ron marrying. Then there were the endless stories of students vying to become the new Mauraders or Weasley Twins. Harry always laughed at that part of her letters, the pranks the current students came up with were either pathetic or a stroke of genius. She always compared the current pranks with either the antics of the Mauraders or the actions of the twins. Those comparisons became an incredible source of informations about his parents, especially his dad, and their friends.

Five years ago he came to Malibu. He created a little shop with the back windows and porch looking over the beach and ocean. It was on the right side of the middle of nowhere. But people came nonetheless. Malibu consisted of a lot of people with fancy cars, fancier clothes, and without a clue how to spend the rest of their money and time. There were a lot of assistants as well. Men and women who came in speed walking to get the coffee and muffin/scone/donut for their bosses. Five years, he sighed. It had been five years already and he still didn't feel the urge to move on, to another place, start anew again. Maybe he was finally settling? Finally finding a place in the world were he can rest and let the wariness slowly evaporate in the salty air of the ocean?

Harry decided to walk along the beach for a while, before doing stock and then, he groaned internally, the books. God he hated doing the books! There had been a reason that Harry decided at the end of second year that Arithmancy was not meant for him. Altough his primary school math was doable, adding up the numbers was a bimonthly disaster! He started down the stair towards the beach when he heard his name called behind him. Turning around he saw the very well known head of red hair nad the recognizable click clack of her stilleto's. Pepper walked towards him with her impressive speed. He could never understand how she could walk like that on four to five inch heels. Walking up the few steps again, he came face-to-face with her. Pepper looked flustered, frustrated, and was (Harry knew, altough it did not show) completely exasperated.

"Pepper, what a pleasant surprise! I didn't expect you here. Is Tony back already, or has there been a delay with the presentation." Harry was confused.

Pepper swallowed dryly. She didn't know how to tell Harry. For nine months, Harry had been dating Tony. It was a rocky road, and Harry had cursed Tony to hell and back again more times than she could count. But they were reasonable steady and the relationship had become somewhat resembling stable. This was more due to Harry, who had the impressive capability not to listen to any of Tony's reasoning or blunt logic and put his foot down when it counted. And now... "Harry," she had to take deep breath and start again. "Harry there has been a situation in Afghanistan."

Harry paled. Situations with Tony were serious. This to contrary of complications. Usually complications with Tony meant something along the line of 'Hary, I promised I wouldn't drink at that party and drive myself home. But I am really drunk now, lost my phone and JARVIS and only know your number by heart, pick me up?' Complications meant headaches for Pepper, because Tony decided that going to a meeting where billion dollar contracts were signed was to boring to do. complications consisted ninety percent of the time of Tony being an arse. Situations, however, were the heartattack inducing shit. Like when they still were only friends and he crashed his car beyond repair and was in a coma for two days. The day after he came out of his coma, Harry agreed to go on a date with him.

"Pepper, what is it?" He would never know how he managed to create a sound at that moment, considering his heart was blocking his vocal cords by the feeling of it.

"A-at the way b-back of the presentation. The convoy of Tony was attacked. T-they, he is..." Pepper was shaking now. "He was kidnapped. They only found his phone behind some rocks." Harry was sure Pepper said more after this, but he couldn't hear it. The world came rushing in at an alarming speed, a strange buzzing in his ears prevented Harry hearing the rest of what Pepper said. Tony Stark, billonair genius playboy philantropist – as he had once called himself-, gone? Kidnapped? But that couldn't! No, no, no, no! Harry didn't realize he had fallen to his knees. He didn't see the world go sideways as he lay down on the pavement. But he did welcome the blackness that helped him evade the hopelessness and pain that engulfed him from the moment Pepper had uttered the word 'kidnapped'. With relief he succumbed to the darkness


	2. First impressions can be wrong, right?

_Three years ago..._

"Ms Potts."

"Mr Stark, good morning. You have a meeting in forty five minutes. You need to get up and going." Virginia 'Pepper' Potts looked at her boss. He was lying in his bed with a blond – was that a guy or a girl? – anyway with a blond someone in his bed. Tony turned over in his bed.

"Good god! Who is that?" he exclaimed.

"You're asking _me_? Seriously? You are the one who already slept with half of the population in Malibu, and New York I may add. You cannot expect me to keep a picture book for every person you sleep with and then magically know who it is the next morning. I have a thousand things I need to discuss with you before the board meeting of tonight and you are asking who the person is that you've dragged in the bed this night?" Pepper ranted to her boss.

Tony blinked a couple of times and jumped out of bed. "I'm going to take a shower and then I'll be gone to that meeting Pep. You can, you know, skedaddle Blondie over there out the door, right?" Without waiting for an answer Tony walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Pepper heaved a sigh, she didn't know how to control Tony at all.

"JARVIS? Can you do a identity check off of the camera footage of last night please?"

"Of course Ms Potts. Identity check running." Pepper stole this method off of Tony last month. The woman he brought to his bed refused to give him her real name and was evolving into a bit of a stalker. This was the way Tony had found out her real name and filed for a restraining order against her.

"Madam, his name is Andrew Gallagher, twenty five years, working on his PhD in neuropsychology. Do you need an adress?"

"No thank you JARVIS, just send the adress to the corresponding driver who'll bring him home."

Blondie was stirring on the bed. Alright showtime, let him see who the efficient bitch is and then get Tony to the meeting before finding the biggest and best cup of caffeine possible.

Ten minutes later, Andrew Gallagher was being driven home and Tony was ready to leave. In the car to the meeting he turned to her expectantly.

"What?" Pepper asked curtly, she was not in the mood for his usual morning antics, or his whining, or explanations of his 'healthily curbed sexual appetite'.

"Coffee! You do have coffee for me don't you Pepper?" He looked at her, altough it was abundantly clear that Pepper did not have any coffee on her. She was planning to get it while Tony was getting ready, but instead she had to take out the trash. When she told Tony this he shook his head and looked out of the window.

"Happy, stop here for a second." The car slowed down and stopped in front of a small breakfast and lunch cafe. Tony turned back around to face Pepper with the same expectant expression on his face. With an exasperated shake of her head, Pepper stepped out of the car and looked at the shop. It was right at the side of the road with a beautiful view on the beach below. To her surprise, the place was bustling. At the shoulder of the road she could she a line of parked cars. She glanced at the windows _Marauders' food and drinks, serving Sunday (8 am - 4 pm) Monday-Friday (6.30 am - 3 pm)_ was on the sign of the window. She walked in, and immediately made a beeline for the counter.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" The voice came from behin her. Pepper spun on her spot and saw a small guy with untidy hair and sparkling green eyes smiling politely at her. She was surprised, the guy looked around twenty five and with a quick view around the place, it seemed as he was running the business by himself.

"Yes, good morning to you. Can I have two coffees to go please?" Without a word he pushed a small menu to her. "Please make you decision what kind of coffee you would like. I make about any coffee you like, so you have to be a little bit more specific if you please." a small laugh escaped the young man.

While Pepper was looking through the menu, Harry studied her discretely. The flaming red hair which was styled immaculately reminded him of Ginny. A small pang of pain flared in his heart. No matter how long ago, the denounciation at the Burrow still smarted badly. He focused on the present as the redhead made her choice. "Please one moccha latte, extra foam lean milk, and a red eye with the arabic extra strong shot."

With a friendly nod towards her, Harry slid behind the counter and made the two coffees swiftly. After paying Pepper Potts almost ran out of Mauraders' and slid into a slick black car with darkened windows. With a small shake of the head Harry returned to the rest of his customers. He did not and could not know, that this was the first time he met Pepper Potts, or of the friendship that would evolve between them. Nor could he have realized that in three years he would be head over heels in love with her boss, struggling with his secret and hoping that he could tell him soon.

Meanwhile Pepper Potts and Tony Stark were in a caffeine induced heaven. After the first sip, they both agreed that it was the best coffee they ever tasted in their whole existence. "Seriously Pepper, from now on, all coffees that are brought in from outside of Stark Industries are from that place. I will not suffer black slurridge from a disgusting pot any longer!" Tony had been on a dramatic rant during the coffee. Finally he came to a sensible question. "What was the place called?" he asked his PA.

"Marauders'. And I'm telling you Tony, the place was packed to the ceiling, and did you see all those parked cars? We really have to see about the food there as well." Tony nodded in full agreement. Yes, food and coffee, two very important things for the average American. But he was the genius of all the Americans so it stood to reason that for him they were the fuel for his brain. No coffee, no brain, no brain, no genius ideas.

Pepper and Happy were both send out once during the rest of the day, to get more coffee from the place. On his way home, Tony decided to check out the food, but to his disappointment the place was closed. A sign behind the glass of the door said; _'Out marauding for myself. Come back for breakfast or lunch to maraude for food and drink. Mischief managed'. _He shook his head. The owner of this place was either crazy, or crazy smart. A high probability of both.

Over the next six months Pepper Potts became a regular fixture at Marauders'. Coffeeruns, breakfast donuts, lunch bagels, etc. She came to know the black-haired green-eyed guy as Harry Potter. He was originally from England and had a dry wit. She was impressed with how he handled his business. From Monday till Friday he started up at six in the morning and worked till three pm. On Sundays he opened at eight and worked till four. Saturday was his day off. Pepper still had to laugh when she remembered the conversation around that.

"Harry, can I ask you why you decided to close on a Saturday, not Sunday or Monday?" Pepper was curious. She did not know many places, or really _any_ place that closed on a Saturday. Harry had laughed deeply at that and shook his head in amusement.

"My dearest Pepper. I know this must come as a surprise for you, but even I would like to have something resembling a life for at least one day of the week. Of course this usually means that I go to a pub on Friday night, sleep away my Saturday morning, and use the afternoon on the beach to go over my stocks, menu's, my books etc." He laughed again and shook his head.

Pepper had noticed a weird scar on his forehead. Harry saw her staring at his head. "Car crash," he had explained succintly. That, of course, was a lie. But he couldn't exactly say to her 'oh that? That is just my curse scar. Yeah, crazy ass bastard tried to kill me after he killed my parents. Didn't take, even tough he used the aptly named killing curse. Did give me this lovely leftover thoug. Want another refill of coffee?' Pepper would turn him over to EMT's to give him cerebral scans, then have him locked up at a secured psychiatric ward, where he had to wear a straightjacket 24/7. No thank you. So he used the lie his relatives had used for ten years of his life. But he had to admit that Pepper became a friend to him. They had exchanged phone numbers, knew each others annoying habits while eating and gossiped away about their love lives (they were virtually non-existent so _any_ development was elaborately analyzed). She didn't remind him anymore of the Weasley family. she became a bit of her own family member for him. He could recall the panic call from her; she locked herself out of her place without any shoes on at five in the morning. Harry had come to the rescue with his car and a freshly made coffee.

Sundays were heaven for Pepper. Usually she did not have to babysit Tony, or try to salvage business arrangements after he up and left meetings or insulted boardmembers of companies they had contractc with. No, Sundays were used to sleep in. Then at ten o'clock, she knew there was a stool reserved for her at Mauraders'. There, on that stool, she'd spend the next hour and a half reading the Sunday Times and enjoying the famed Sunday brunch of Mauraders'. Harry had a god given talent, and he knew how to use it. scones with whipped cream and marmelade, muffins in every possible flavor, fresh orange juice, scrambled or fried eggs, crisp bacon, everything one can dream of for a brunch. She also used those brunches to catch up with Harry. While he made coffees, scoped up the eggs, made up the checks, she and him chatted about their respective week and the news, laughed about the cartoons in the Times and made the crossword together.

This usually resulted in ten minutes rants of Pepper about Tony, Tony's conquests, Tony's antics, and her usual bout of frustration at them. On one of those Sundays however, the conversation was about Harry's past.

"You are from England, right? Where exactly?" Pepper asked him.

"Well, it is a little more difficult than that. Originally I am from Wales, lived there with my parents. But in the car crash I told you about, I lost them both. I was one at the time, so I don't really remember them. So I went and lived with my mother's sister and her husband and son in Surrey, which is in England. But when I was eleven I went to boarding school up in Scotland for nine to ten months out of the year. School finished when i was seventeen. So to be honest, just call me British 'cause I'm from all over the place." he finished with a little amused smile.

Pepper was shocked. He lost his parents at such a young age. She couldn't imagine what that would feel like.

"Pepper, please. It was a long time ago. Yes, it is sad that I never really met them. But it is life. People live, people die. People mourn and then move on." Harry said softly, adding an 'I wish' to the last part. If only he could move on. The pain was too deep however. The guilt still heavy on his heart. If only, if only.

His musings were interrupted by the lound ringing of Pepper's cell phone. With a glance to the phone, she stood up from the counter. "Tony," she explained to Harry. He nodded at her. With the usual Sunday rush, the sound levels were pretty high. He pointed towards his office and mouthed to her; "Go call there."

With a gratefull expression Pepper retreated into the small office. "Tony," she answered the phone, "it is Sunday, what do you need on a Sunday?"

"Well, I am home alone. I need some food. Don't you need food? Anyway how about brunch or lunch or whatever it is you call eating at this hour of the day."

"Tony..."

"And I was thinking, maybe that coffeeplace? Or that little Thai place?"

"Tony..."

"Or we can just go to a Starbucks and then go to the office, didn't you talk about proofreading contracts. And I still need to look at the compressor on the new launch system for..."

"TONY!" Pepper screamed, once again out of patience with her boss.

"Yes Pepper?"

"I don't need food. This is my only day off. I already am at the coffeeplace as you call it, having a brunch. So, no I.."

"Perfect, I'll see you there in ten minutes!" Without waiting for an answer, Tony hung up. Pepper stood there, her mouth half open, looking at her phone without moving. With shake of the head she walked back to her seat.

She waited until Harry was back behind the counter, making the coffee order for the just arrived table at the window (five vanilla mocchachino's with cinnamon and rasped white chocolate on top) before she commented on the phone call.

"Sorry Harry, Tony was being Tony. Well, is being Tony. He's coming up here. So whatever he's going to say to you. I apologize for my boss, he can be blunt and a little to direct and to be honest an ass, but..."

She was cut off by the hearty laughter coming from him. She looked at him surprised.

"Pepper, I have listened to you moaning and bitching about Tony for six months now. You really think that I have no clue how he interacts socially? Or, anti-socially? And if he really gets annoying and an arsewhipe, then I guess I just have to show him the exit of this establishment with a firm but friendly gesture." He winked at her and walked back out on the floor to bring the coffees to the ladies at the window.

It wasn't long before Tony arrived and seated himself next to Pepper. He looked around the buzzing room.

"Not a bad turn out for Sunday. What is this place? Brunch central? And why are you sitting at the bar? I thought you more of a table-at-the-window kind of girl." He commented offhandly while looking around for the waiter.

"Tony, I always sit at the counter. Yes, it is always this busy, especially on a Sunday. Harry's brunches are in a league of their own. The reason I am sitting here is because I can easily chat with Harry while he is working on orders." Pepper had resigned herself to answering all the questions Tony will fire at her in the next hour. She couldn't wait to see him try it with Harry. She had witnessed a lot of women, and men for that matter, try to get any information out of him when he didn't want to tell anything. He always managed to get them to stop, with them none the wiser, and keep them as his regulars.

"Pepper, who's the gentleman? And does he need a coffee or something to eat?" Harry came back to the counter. He was smiling at them, but Pepper saw the warning flash in his eyes. Tony wouldn't get any leyway with him. Good.

"Harry, I'd like to introduce you to Anthony Stark. He is my boss and leads Stark Industries." Pepper knew the game Harry would play. Of course, before Pepper and he became friends, he already knew of Tony. Harry had explained, however, that should he ever meet him he would act like he didn't.

_"I know _of_ him Pepper. I don't actually know him. There's a big difference. Reputations are made and broken in a matter of one picture or one article. I only know that the media love to criticize him. That is it."_ He had impressed her with that. Altough he was right, not many people could differentiate like that.

"Pleasure to meet you mr Stark. Can I get you anything?" Harry was still distantly polite. Pepper looked at Tony and suppressed a groan with difficulty. Tony was eying him up. This could only end wrong.

"Well," Tony drawled as sexy as possible. "There is a lot of things you can get for me. I'll settle for you phone number though." Pepper ruthlessly beated down the urge to smack Tony and her forehead.

Harry just looked at him with distaste. "Could you refrain from ordering anything that is not a food or drink on the menu? I have neither time nor energy left to go through the hassle of filing for a restraining order against you. That means I would have to manually remove you from my business and as you can see, I have other things to do at this moment." Without waiting for an answer, Harry went through a set of kitchendoors to dump dishes in the sink. When he came back out, he saw Pepper red with embarresment standing next to Tony with her wallet at the ready.

"Harry can I have our regular coffees to go and pay for the rest?" The check was settled and Pepper almost threw Tony at the door and with a little wave to Harry disappeared from view.

"Well, this is going to be an interesting ride." Harry mumbled to no one in particular, while watching Pepper berating Tony for harassing him. He smiled and turned back to his customers


	3. Pity the Living, Despair for their Death

"I feel like your driving me to court marshall, this is crazy." Tony spoke up, scotch in hand, when the silence became too much. AC/DC was playing on the portable CD-player in the middle of the Humvee, or Funvee as he intoned to Rhodey before.

"What did I do, I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me. What you're not allowed to talk?" Harry always said my babbling problem was worse than Pepper, Rhodey and himself combined, Tony mused privately. But he was nothing if not persistent. "Hey Forrest!" he spoke to the soldier to his left.

"We can talk sir," well, if that came out convincing Harry secretly was a chick.

"Ah, I see. So it's personal." He was enjoying this way too much, he noticed while he took a sip of scotch.

"No, you intimidate them." the driver spoke up.

"Good God! You're a woman! Honestly, I couldn't have called that. I mean, I'd apologize, but isn't that what we're going for here?" Yes, now the ice was finally breaking. Funny lots of ice in the middle of the Afghan desert. "I thought of you as a soldier first."

"I'm an airman." she responded. He saw Forrest on the left laughing. Finally these men came loose a bit. Or well, woman too, he guessed.

"Well, you actually have excellent bone structure there. I'm kind of having a hard time not looking at you now, is that weird?" All three of them now succumbed to their laughter. O yeah, he still got it. Harry may be able to cross swords or words with him, but the rest of humanity still had to bow to his capable wits.

"Come on, it's okay to laugh. Hey!" he cheersed them with his scotch. The soldier on the passenger seat turned around.

"Sir I have a question to ask." "Yes, please!"

"Is it true that you went twelve for twelve with last year's Maxim cover models?" Ouch, thank you private. I did not want to be reminded of _that_, or the fights this created between him and Pepper. That was apparently _not_ the way into Harry's heart. He removed his sunglasses and decided to bluff his way out.

"That is an excellent question. Yes and no. March and I had a scheduling conflict but fortunately the christmas cover was twins." Well the twins tried at least. Harry could be really scary and bitchy if he wanted to be.

"Anything else?" he saw Forrest raise his hand shyly. "You're kidding me with the hand up, right?"

"Is it cool if I take a picture with you?" Oh, if only he was recording this. Harry would have to pay him twenty bucks on that bet. Why wasn't he recording this? He could submit the evidence that Harry lost a bet for once. Usually it was him that had to pay up. Rhodey had quickly learned never to put any money on a bet with Harry.

"Yes, it is very cool." Tony responded. With a smile Forrest gave his camera to the soldier in the passenger seat. "I don't want to see this on you MySpace page." Tony had had to live through enough nightmares of photoshop to last a lifetime. While he was looking at the camera he decided to mess a bit with him. "Please, no gang signs." Quickly Forrest lost the V he made with his right hand. "No throw it up, I'm kidding." With impressive speed the right hand was back were it started.

"Yeah, peace! I love peace, I'd be out of a job with peace." When would he make the damn picture?

"Come on, just click it!" Ah, Forrest got fed up as well. "Just click the button on the top. Don't change any settings."

Suddenly the car before them blew up in a huge explosion.

* * *

Harry woke up with a start. He was feeling like he was forgetting something crucial. Like there was something that should have all of his attention but he just could not remember anything at all. He looked around him while stretching himself in the wide bed. He was in Tony's room, at his Malibu mansion. Why? He had that weapon demonstration in Afghanistan. So he should have stepped into his own bed this night, and maybe wake up because Tony had decided to sleep at his place, in his bed, or because he would have called him at the most ungodly hour in the night.

His brain, however, didn't let him linger in this sleepy confusing haze and with the subtlety of a sledge hammer, the events of yesterday came rushing back. Tony, kidnapped, explosion, Afghanistan. He rolled into himself and grabbed Tony's pillow. Pushing his face in it and smelling pure Tony on it. That was as close as he could get to him now. If only it was another country than Afghanistan! Iraq, Iran, Zimbabwe, any country _but_ Afghanistan. The only place in the world where the levels of ambivalent magic were so high that it interferred with a wizards core.

"Good morning sir." JARVIS had apparently decided that Harry was not allowed to wallow in self-pity or teary screaming fits. "Ms Potts is downstairs trying to contain the media. They are camped outside the gates."

"Thank you JARVIS." Harry mumbled.

"Sir, if I may? I do not think it wise to just lie in bed all day. Perhaps you can still open Marauders' for the afternoon?" The suggesting made Harry lift his head to glare up to the ceiling.

"I will not go to the shop today JARVIS! Tony is out there in the middle of nowhere, probably with a gun aimed at his head all the time. You suggest I carry on like nothing happened and whistle a happy tune? Not today JARVIS. Sunday is the earliest that I think about it."

"Of course, sir. May I tell Ms Potts that you'll be coming downstairs momentarily?" JARVIS really wanted him out of bed it seemed. But he was right on some level. Smelling Tony's pillow all the time was not helping. He needed food, even though it was the last thing his body felt like at the moment. But he also knew that he had to force himself to eat often enough. He guessed it was a long term present still working from his time at the Dursleys.

"Yeah, JARVIS. I'm going to take a shower and then I'll go downstairs and eat a bit." With those words he forced himself out of bed. He felt his eyes prickling, but as always refused to give in to tears. Once, he cried only once since he left England, and that was when Tony forced him to tell everything when he saw the scars on his back, collarbone and arms. Tony, not saying anything, but just grabbing him at his shoulder and looking him in his eyes; it was enough and he broke a dam that he always kept up against his flood of emotion. But under the privacy of the shower, where the warm water and the tears couldn't be differentiated from one another, he gave in and silent tears streamed down his face while he hoped, begged, claimed, commanded and pleaded to anything and anyone he could think of at that moment, to bring Tony safely back to him.

Pepper was downstairs and forcing herself not to panic. Tony was kidnapped, not dead. Tony was smart, heck he was a freaking genius. And he finally had the man he loved at his side. No she would not give in to panic, but try anything from this side to find him and keep the company going. And most importantly she had to keep Harry sane and safe. She looked up when she heard footsteps on the stairs. Harry had not seen her. His eyes were on his feet and the floor, as if scared to trip or once again sag down on the floor.

Yesterday, Pepper had to call Happy to carry Harry into the car and then drove back to Tony's house. There Happy had put Harry up in to the bedroom and left with a sympathetic squeeze of the shoulder. Harry had not waken up for dinner, or to go and open up Marauders'. And as JARVIS said, Harry wasn't actually planning on leaving the bed today. JARVIS had to be his obnoxiously programmed self to get him out of bed.

"Harry," she spoke softly. His head snapped up to her. He tried to smile at her, but all he seemed to manage was a half-heartedly grimace. He shuffled through to the kitchen. The kitchen was stocked. He knew that, ever since Tony and he started going out, Tony made sure there was enough food in the house for Harry to cook or bake away any frustration he may have. But now? For the first time in years, Harry didn't think he could clear his head with baking a few batches of muffins. He knew that his mind would not drift away from the pain and uncertainty by creating a four course dinner. He stood with empty and shaking hands at the sink. He bowed his head. How long before they knew anything? Would Tony survive? Would they torture him? Harry knew torture, he knew how you could be made into less than a human by knifes artistically drawn over skin. He knew of the pain a whipping produced, the ache that remained in your bones for hours after the act.

Pepper walked in on him standing at the sink trembling, with his head bowed. His hands had curved around the steel edge, knuckles white. In the three years she'd known him, not once did she see him cry. Not once did he truly lost his whole composure. He always managed a smile, and with a shrug of the shoulders and offhand comment of 'that's life, it sucks so you better suck it all up and keep going' he went about the every day business of Marauders'. Even only a day after his brake up with Jay he showed up to be her plus one for a benefit gala. They had waltzed and he had treated her like a lady. This was the first time that he seemed to be unable to push himself up.

She walked up to him and embraced his waist from behind. "He'll get out if there Harry. He's strong, smart, and has a tendancy for surviving the strangest things. Like always he'll be fine." She let her head rest agains his back. Without her high heels, they were about the same length. She felt how all his muscles were coiled tight under the shirt.

"You don't get it Pepper. They didn't want him dead. That means that they want his mind, or his money. His money, I could care less about. Losing the company for his life, is something Tony could handle as well. But what if they want his mind, Pepper? His knowledge? How far will they go to get what they want?" He didn't say it with so many words but Pepper understood. Even if Tony got out of there, what would return to them?

Pepper felt like something was stuck in het throat, no matter how may times she swallowed it seemed to have taken up lodgings permanently up there. No! Tony will survive, he is to pigheaded to make any other outcome probable. She forced Harry to turn around and aid exactly that to him. Harry chuckled softly at that. "True, there is no one as stubborn as him. I mean, it took him crashing himself into a coma after pursuing me for six months before I dated him. Perserverence was kind of needed for that one." One lonely tear fell down his face. Pepper reached up and swiped it gently away.

"Why don't you let me fix you something to eat for a change? And a coffee? It isn't as fancy as you give them to me, but it is honest to god, black arabian espresso coffee? And maybe some eggs sunny side up? With some toast?" Harry nodded and leaned his head on her shoulder.

"God, Pepper! I can't lose him. Not after my parents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and everyone turning their back on me. I just can't!" Pepper hugged him tightly. "And you won't, Harry Potter! Do not let me even see you thinking like that again. We _will_ keep on hoping. Otherwise, Tony will have a year's worth of remarks for the picking." With that she led him to the couch and pushed him down.

"Now, you stay!" she said sternly, before retreating to the kitchen. Harry leaned back on the couch and with hitched breath he sighed. Pepper was right, pessimistic thinking had not helped him once. He should keep hope. Fate couldn't hate him that much, to take Tony away from him as well? Was he already dead? He was tempted to use the Ring of Resurrection but forced himself not to. _If_ Tony was dead, then he should be at peace not be forced back in life by Harry.

His swirling thoughts were interrupted by Pepper who walked in with a plate of eggs and toast and a steaming cup of coffee. She placed it on the coffeetable in front of him and handed him his silverware.

"Now eat." she ordered. He had to admit. Her cooking wasn't half bad. A little bit more seasoning on the eggs and it would've been perfect.

"Thanks Pepper." he got a small smile in return.

"Now, I hate to leave you, I really do Harry, but-" "But you need to get to Stark Industries, to get in contact with everybody. It's okay Pepper, I understand. Can Happy drive me home later?" Pepper smiled and nodded. With a kiss on the cheeck she walked out of the living room.

With an hour Harry was sitting on the couch in his own living room, in his own appartment over Marauders'. He needed, he needed... he needed Minerva, or Kingsley, or anyone really who knew how deep his previous losses cut him. He walked slowly towards the fireplace, which was seldomly used. Minerva, the only one who he really had a regular correspondence with, knew he was connected to the floo in this place. He had never given her the adress. Harry looked over to the clock hanging of the wall. Twelve o'clock. He counted it out slowly in his head. At Hogwarts it would be eight right now.

Ten years ago he had been in the Room of Requirement. He could still remember how surprised and aghast he was upon seeing Neville. He could still remember Luna coming up to him after the Battle giving him the window of escape. He could still see the lines of dead bodies in the Great Hall. Neville and Luna, they never knew what happened to him after. They were friends, yes even great friends. But after the betrayel of the Weasleys, after losing Teddy, he just couldn't bare the knowledge that his last two true friends would turn their backs on him as well. No, he wanted to have the memories of those two to be untarnished by cruel words and anger.

With a sudden impulse he lit the fireplace with a nonverbal incendio and took the lid of the silver snuffbox on the mantle. He pinched some of the black powder between his fingers. Was he really going to talk face to face with a witch? After ten years of only contact through letters, would he even be able to access her floo? He took a deep breath, he was still a Gryffindor for Merlin's sake. The woman ended every letter to call on her if he needed, well he needed her alright! With that he threw the powder in to the fire and intoned: "Headmistress McGonagall's office, Hogwarts!" He felt the familiar feelin of his face being sucked down the fire, a feeling he hadn't felt in ten years and waited with baited breath if she would grant him access.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall had just returned from a quick round through the school after dinner. It was a decade to the day, that Voldemort had been defeated. The entire day had been full of celebrations and memorial services. And nobody even thought anymore about the (then) boy who made their freedom possible. Harry Potter. She had until the first stroke of midnight, by then the wake in the Great Hall would begin.

As a memorial service this year, the entire school held a wake during the hours in which the Battle was fought. They would get an hour respite of talking in the hour in which ten years ago they retrieved their dead and wounded friends and collegues. And then, precisely fifteen minutes after that hour, the gong of Hogwarts would sound, to commemorate the announcement that Harry Potter was dead.

She could recall very clearly how her heart had broken for her student, when she saw him lying – seemingly dead – in the arms of Hagrid. She should've known that he would go to him. It was always him making the sacrifices for everything. Love, security, the arms of his parents and godfather; all were given up in the fight for the Wizarding World. And not a single heartfelt thank you came his way. Just worshipping, and then betrayel.

She and Molly Weasley had not spoken a word since the day after Harry had left. She had been furious at the grieving mother. Molly had come up to Hogwarts and had made a derogatory remark about him. Minerva had exploded and Molly had ran out of Hogwarts with the aged Headmistress at her heels launching jinxes and hexes at her.

Minerva forced herself back in the present, she wanted to finish the report for the board of governors before returning to the Great Hall. Neville and Luna were going to be there as well. The two had been devestated when they realized Harry had left. They had come to her, and she had said everything she could around her Vow to them. They understood, they were pained, but they understood. From what she could tell, Ginny regretted her actions as well. Not Molly, who would not accept Harry not marrying her daughter after they had dated. It did not work for Bill when he had feelings for Fleur. When did that woman realize you can not force the heart?

Again she tried to put her mind to the report. But before she had finished writing on esentence her floo flared to life. In the flames the name Harry Potter was clearly written. She dropped her quill out of shock. With a bit of uncharacteristic fumbling for her wand she granted him access.

His head appeared in the fireplace. He had aged quite a bit. Expected, of course, in a decade. The boyish look of his cheecks had disappeared, small lines had wormed themslevis in the skin around his eyes and he had regrown his hair to shoulder length. But when she'd pictured him aging, she always pictured him happy. Or at least content. That was the sentiment in most of his letters. Everyone goes through ups and downs in their life, but overall it seemed Harry found a niche in the world where he could live. The face in the fireplace was anything but content. His eyes seemed to miss the spark they had always held, his mouth missed the lines of determination. Instead, desperation was coming off of him in waves.

"Harry Potter," she almost whispered. "How are you my dear, after so long?"

She was shocked when he looked at her with dull green eyes and answered her with a trembling voice. "Tony has been kidnapped by a terrorist group in Afghanistan."


	4. Penny for their Thoughts

**A/N Thank you for all the reviews yesterday! Wow, a lot of people here liked what I've written so far! I'll try to update at least twice a week, but I'm still writing my thesis and while writing on with To Love a Hero is the most perfect excuse not to, I can't exactly postpone forever. Here is chapter four! **

**Warning! At the beginning there is slash lemon! Don't want to read it, skip the first part!**

**As always, please review!**

* * *

Tony was woken up rather pleasantly. He felt the warm mouth of Harry wrapped around his cock, while one of his hands was slowly massaging his balls. He let his head rest upon the pillow, while he focussed on his breathing. At a particular hard suck of Harry he groaned in pleasure. He threw off the blankets and saw a pair of sparkling green eyes look up in his, while he was working up and down his shaft. Damn, that sight made him harden ever more. At the point were Tony considered the tempo Harry kept was a new form of torture – one that was completely appreciated – Tony pulled Harry up for a deep kiss. After a few moments they seperated.

"Good morning, Tony" Harry purred.

"It certainly is gorgeous." Tony flipped them over.

Slowly he made his way down via the jaw to the neck. He licked and bit at the spot Tony knew would get Harry squirming. He didn't disappoint and give a throathy moan.

"Hmm, Tony." breathed Harry, he closed his eyes to fully feel the sensation of Tony's tongue and lips and teeth on his skin.

He zoomed in on one of Harry's nipples, sucking it into his mouth and lavashing it with his tongue. A hand came up and held his head in place, hair gripped tightly. He gave the other nipple the same attention, before slowly making his way down to Harry's tight stomach. He paid particular attention to a scar coming over Harry's left side; created with a leather belt by his uncle he had told him. Slowly he put down light kisses over the length of the scar. He heard Harry gasp, Harry had always been sensitive around that scar.

While he was working down his left thigh with his mouth, he looked for some lube with his hands on the nightstand. When he finally got it he switched thighs and made his way up, while thouroughly soaking up two fingers of his right hand.

He teased the tight hole lightly with his forefinger. Harry moaned lightly and wriggled down on the teasing fingertip. When he felt the muscles loosen a bit, he pushed his finger in. Harry groaned louder this time, and uttered his name. Tony always felt powerful when he made Harry groan and moan his name towards the skies. He turned his finger sideways a few times, making Harry moan a bit more, before he slowly let it slip in and out of Harry's hole.

Tony stopped the oral ministration on Harry's hip and sat back to look at his finger disappearing and appearing in Harry. He sped up a bit, before he added a second finger and started turning his hand again. After Harry again got used to the fingers, Tony pumped his fingers up and down.

Harry started to move now. Trying to fuck himself on Tony's fingers, head arched back on the pillows with his troath completely exposed. Tony dove in and sucked harshly on his Adam's apple. He twitched his fingers, looking for his prostate. Harry suddenly screamed and arched his back lightly.

"There we go, gorgeous. Scream for me." Tony started to scissor his fingers and made sure that with every few thrusts he would graze against Harry's prostate. Harry was reduced to panting Tony's name and fucking himself on Tony's fingers. He could not remember a more sensual and arousing scene, than how Harry laid on the bed before him. Tony quickly added his third finger, and not long after that his fourth.

Harry was nothing more than a wriggling mess. "Please Tony, I need more. I need you in me, now!"

"Easy gorgeous, I'll get there." While he talked he lubed his cock up good and pressed it against Harry's loosened hole.

"You want me in there, Harry? Want me to take you hard and good and deep?" Tony's voice lowered in lust. Harry could only nod and with one swift movement Tony entered him deep. He trembled with the trouble of remaining still so Harry could adjust to him inside of him.

He exhaled in relief when he felt Harry putting his legs around him and ordered him. "Move, now."

Tony obeyed and started to move slowly out of him, until only his head was inside Harry. With one swift move he burried himself balls deep again. Harry let out a soft scream of pleasure. Tony began to move in earnest now, while Harry met every thrust with his hips to get Tony buried deep inside of him.

The air smelled of sex, and the silence was broken by the pants and moans of Harry and the groans and low grunts of Tony. Tony once again hit that magic spot deep inside of him and Harry arched of the bed. Without mercy, Tony pushed over and over against his prostate. He grabbed Harry's cock and started pumping him in rythm of his thrusts. He felt him harden up more and more, and with a large scream of his name he came all over the two of them.

Feeling the muscles contract again and again during Harry's orgasm was too much for him, and with a few last thrust and Harry's name falling of his lips he came and coated Harry's channel with his come. He collapsed over Harry, both men breathing harsh.

After a few minutes Tony carefully slid out of Harry and fell next to him on the bed, bringing Harry in to his side. They cleaned themselves up with the wet towel Harry already had the foresight of grabbing before waking Tony up.

The laid there snuggling and both were slighty snoozing when Harry sighed and mumbled to Tony.

"I love you."

* * *

_I love you_.

With a start Tony woke up. His mind felt like it was on fire and his chest hurt like a bitch. Whatever happened to him, it couldn't have been any good. Harry, o God, he was going to kill him. He already was against him going to the presentation instead of Obie. He felt the muscles in his arms tremble. What the hell had happened to him?

Slowly the memories started seaping in. The Funvee, the explosion, the airman woman and Forrest all dead. Him running out of the car. And, my god, did he really see one of his own weapons detonate!

He looked around. He seemed to be in some sort of cave, but there was light. He felt a probe down his nose, and with a lot of discomfort he managed to pull it out of nose. There was only one person besides himself who could administer anything in his body, and he was safely back in Malibu. God Harry, he was going to ask him to move in when he came back. Now, it was much more an if than a when. He tried to reach for the tin watercup at his bedside, but his hands and arms still didn't respond to him. The cup fell down on the floor. He tried to reach for the pitcher but was yanked back by something.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." a voice with a foreign accent told him. Tony turned his head to the right, only to get the scare of a lifetime. He clearly must be hallucinating, because _that_ clearly could not be a car battery attached to his bandaged chest. Tony started panicking and ripped the bandage off of his wound. In the process he felt something metallic instead of his own skin and bones. Almost hyperventilating he ripped off the last piece of bandage. What he saw there had him gasping for air, praying that this was only a hellish nightmare, and he was about to wake up in his plane back to Malibu where he could kiss his gorgeous boyfriend. Because only then would he accept that he had a giant piece of rusty metal sticking out of his chest.

It was not, however, a nightmare. _I love you_, how much power those words had over him when uttered by Harry. He knew of the morning he had dreamed. It was a month after they had started going out with each other and Harry had mumbled it before falling back to sleep. Tony had laid there wide awake for four hours, then when Harry had woken up again, he had bolted from the bed. It took a rather hard slap on the back of his head – courtesy of Pepper – to realize that he actually loved Harry too. And running away had not been the best response to those words.

Tony watched as his cave mate prepared sort of dinner, whistling a happy tune. After being spoiled for three years with the delicate food produced by Harry, it did not exactly look appetizing. He finally spoke up. "What the hell did you do to me?" He was still shaky.

"What did I do?" the man asked, stopping with whistling. He chuckled gently. "What I did is to save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left and it is heading into your heart. Here you want to see?" he walked towards the table and held up a vial with shrapnel in it.

No, Tony did not want, nor would he look at pieces of shrapnel that had been in his body that used to be part of his own freaking device!

"Have a souvenir... Here take a look." With those words he threw the vial at Tony. Only out of sheer reflex he caught the damn thing.

"I've seen many wounds like that in my village. They call them the walking dead. Because it takes about a week for the parts to reach the vital organs."

"What is this?" Tony weakly gestured towards the metal.

"That is an elektromagnet, hooked up to a car battery." Brilliant, just brilliant. "And it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart." Okay so maybe giant piece of metal in my chest is not the end of the world, if it's keeping me alive. He zipped up the hoodie and looked up, only then noticing the camera in the corner of the ceiling.

"That's right. Smile!" the man smiled sarcastically.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall looked at Harry's face in the fireplace. She knew of the Muggle Harry was dating. And his fears to come clean about magic, apparantly he was a technical genius. He had described Tony's brain as 'think muggle Hermione on a constant flux of Pepper Up'. They were together for a good few months now. And he was kidnapped?

"Harry, dear, tell me everything." Everything turned out to be not a whole lot. Just an explosion, the lack of his body and the account of Tony's best friend who was with him. She closed her eyes. "Of all the places in the world." she whispered to herself. "Indeed," Harry agreed with her grimly. Minerva looked at her old student in sympathy.

"I'll ask Kingsley if there is anything he knows we can do from here to help with the search. But I fear that the muggles are far better equiped for searching for him in that region."

Harry looked like he was about to protest. Minerva raised her hand to stop him from an onslaught of protests. "Harry, I know I don't have to and that Kingsley doesn't either. I know that is not the reason you flooed me. It is however, something I can do that maybe making a difference for you."

Harry swallowed his words back, again he felt his eyes prickling. God, he was becoming such a crybaby! "Thank you, Minerva!" As always, the old professor was ready to help him.

"Not at all Harry. You want to come on through, or stay there?" She wished so much for him to come to her, just so she could give him a hug and tell him just like last time that everything will be alright. She saw with disappointment that Harry shook his head.

"No, I'll stay here. I-, it's only midday here. Maybe we hear some news through Stark Industries, or from Obediah." The last part was said with reluctance. To Minerva, it was clear as day that Harry did not like that man.

"I just need one thing then from you Harry. A clearence of my Vow, to talk to Kingsley about it. We normally talk around our Vows, and for general purposes it works fine. I have to admit though, that it would be preferable not to have to do that when it comes to talking about mr Stark being taken." While she spoke the words in her usual brisk manner, she was feeling far from confident. She asked him to give up a part of his secrecy, his privacy. Minerva waited with baited breath on what Harry would say to that. If he cleared her Vow, it meant that after a decade she could finally appease Neville and Luna. She could tell Ginny that, yes, she was in contact with Harry, and yes he was having a good life. Well, he'd had a good life up till now.

A wand and a loose hand appeared in her fire place. "I, Harry James Potter, son of James Potter and Lily Potter, neé Evans, hereby release Minerva McGonagall of her Unbreakable Vow to me. So mote it be." A golden firy glow appeared from both Harry's wand and around Minerva. She nodded in gratitude to Harry, before he retreated from her fireplace.

She looked down to her desk. She could see the one line of the report she had penned down. It could wait. She strode out of the office with a determined tred. She'd find Kinglsey as soon as possible, he was supposed to be somewhere around the school. And by Merlin and Morgana, she would try everything within her power to help Harry get Tony back.

* * *

Back in Malibu, Harry remained seated in front of his now extinguished fireplace. He felt liberated by asking for magical help. For so long, the only reason he used his magic were the dishes in Marauder's and cleaning his appartment. Besides those there were a few experiments on the different theories he'd learned about. Yes, Harry was not the lucky but magically powerful seventeen year old boy anymore. He was well versed in different aspects of magic, and knew he could enforce a whole lot of strength in the different wards and spells.

His entire appartment above Marauders' was fortified with wards, blood wards as well as more traditional runic ones, and every charm he could think of. Even Tony was not suspicious of anything weird going on around him. He sighed, he was once again back to his boyfriend with his thoughts. He had considered so many different options; to use the Ring (he said to everyone he left it in the forrest, but when he left he couldnt leave for any random student to find), to apparate outside the death zone and search manually, to screw every warning and just plow on with magic regardless of the damage it would do to his core. But he couldn't do it. For one, Tony would blow his mind if he put himself in danger, secondly he was no good to Tony when he booked himself a ticked to the high security ward in St Mungo's.

He closed his eyes and retreated back in to his mind. After he had left the UK, when he first arrived in New York, he had picked up a whole shelve worth of Occlumency and Legilimency books. He was now proficient in the art, Snape would have been shocked of his socks. When he saw his own mindscape, he went for the happy memories of him and Tony. He needed to relive that, if only for a few hours. To remember their love, and fun, and squabbling. He saw the memory of the first time Tony tried to ask him out. It was about a year after Tony first had set foot inside Marauders' on that memorable Sunday morning.

_Memory_

Harry was not having a good time. He was in the stock area, off the kitchen, and all the cans and packs had been mixed up, like someone had knocked everything over and hastily threw everything back on his shelves. Also after he finally was done counting out and sorting everything, it seemed that there were several packs of flour missing. Really? Who one earth would go and nick packs of flour?

A sound at the backdoor made him turn around wary. He quickly felt on his right arm, his holster (hidden from view with a simple Disillusionment Charm on it) with his wand was right were it should be. With silent steps, a product of sneaking around Hogwarts and living through a war, he approached the back door. Again he heard the sound, like something heavy felt on the ground, followed by a soft curse.

Harry had squared his shoulders and kicked open the back door. He froze where he stood. There on the little patio behind Marauders' stood Tony, covered in flour, with metal frames around the patio. Harry looked at Tony, and then to the frames. They seemed to be letters. If he saw it correctly it was saying _date? Please_. Tony had looked at him sheepishly.

"Well, not exactly how I wanted you to see me. But... what do you say?" Harry just stood there. For the past year, Tony had done nothing but made crude remarks to Pepper and himself. About Marauders', his lack of technologically advanced kitchen supplies, his refusal to buy himself a Stark smart phone. Harry looked on with an incredulous look on his face. Tony remained standing there with the same look on his face.

Harry had turned around, back in side, before saying over his shoulder, "You owe me for the flour mr Stark, I add it up to your check for next Sunday."

Tony had not stopped trying though. And Harry had to admit, he was handsome, okay he was drop dead sexy and handsome, but he did not plan to become another nodge on his bedpost. After Jay, he did not want to make a fool of himself by dating a regular Casanova. Again.

_End memory_

Pepper found him at the end of the afternoon, in front of the unlit fireplace with his eyes still closed, still lost in the memories. She saw a small smile on his face, and tear tracks lining his face.


	5. A Week in Hell

**A/N Hey guys, thank you for all the positive reviews from the last week. When I started this fanfic I was expecting only a few followers and a handful of reviews. A lot of people asked me if I was going to do all the movies and the Avengers movie as well. That is the plan. I am going to split it up between stories though. **

**So here is the new chapter! As always enjoy and please review!**

**cjb1990**

* * *

"He wants you to build the Jericho missile, that you demonstrated." His savior took on of his hands away from his head to take to photo the leader gave him. He showed Tony the photo of his Jericho Missile. "That missile."

Tony swallowed. He knew he could not give in. These men had his weapons in their hands, and now they wanted his new missile as well? He looked the man straight in the eyes.

"I refuse," he said resolutely.

Pain. He never knew how much pain water could create. He never thought himself lacking in imagination, but boy was he wrong. Harry was right, water was the worst part. He suddenly found a whole new level of respect for his boyfriend. He knew that almost being drowned in the bathroom was one of his uncle's punishments. He felt his head being pulled out of the water, he started to cough. Before his lungs could recover, he was pushed back in again. The wiring of the elektromagnet connected with the water, causing a shock through his entire body. Mother of all that's holy, that hurts!

He could hear Harry's voice drifting to him from the recesses of his mind. He found himself sitting on the bed again.

"_Harry, what are those?" Tony questioned Harry seriously. Harry, of course, knew what Tony was talking about. He tried to shrug it of easily._

"_Honestly Tony, they're just scars. Nothing fancy." Tony could tell the light tone was forced._

"_Oh, really nothing fancy? Because, and please correct me in the improbable situation that I'm wrong, because it seems that someone took a beating to you and didn't stop for a decade."_

_Harry sighed."Really? We are both half naked and you want to talk about this now? For Christ sake man, it is nothing important, not anymore!"_

_Tony, however, had persisted and in the end a very reluctant Harry disclosed what happened to him. To say Tony was shocked would be an understatement._

"_How could you deal with something like that in such a young age?" He half whispered._

"_Honestly? It was easier when I was younger. I didn't had any friends before boarding school and it was all I knew. With serious beatings, or when Vernon took out his belt, I quickly learned to detach my mind from my body. I still felt the pain but it was numbed, sort of like I was drifting away from my attachment to my body. I kept it up with meditating, it helps with the emotion and pain."_

Detach myself from my body. Right, if a ten year old Harry could do it, then so could he! They threw his head in and out of the water, with barely any recovery time. Tony was gasping for air in his lungs. Detach my mind, detach my mind, Tony chanted in his head. When his head was again dumped into the water, he was shocked by the wiring of the electromagnet. Okay, that detachment thing? Not really working for him.

Tony was led outside. The man began speaking to him and everywhere he looked, he saw his own weapons. My god, he hadn't heard that so much was stolen from the American military. Was it dealing by rogue officers? He looked at his rescuer as he translated. "He wants to know what you think?" The terrorist looked at Tony, beaming proudly as he gestured towards the stacked weapons.

"I think you have a lot of my weapons." Tony's voice was flat.

"He says that they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile. He wants you to make a list of materials. He says that you will start working on it immediately, and when you're done he will set you free."

Free? As if. Tony smiled and shook the man's hand, all the while wishing he could somehow cut it off the man's body. As they shook he said through the faked smile. "No, he won't." His rescuer agreed, with a smile and a nod towards the terrorist. "No he won't."

* * *

Harry was going crazy. It was more than a week ago that Pepper had come up to him in front of his cafe. McGonagall had not sent him any owls with news from the magical side. No randsom note, no news, no nothing! All week he had kept the cafe close. But he could not keep hiding in his little upstairs appartment. He was cowering in the corner like a cowardly little boy. That was not the Harry Potter he had been since starting Hogwarts. Before he would start up his baking again he needed some serious venting. With new found determination he walked into what should have been an inconspicous walk-in closet. When he closed the door however the closet changed into an extensive room, filled with dummies, targets and a duelling area. The windows showed the beautiful view over the ocean, the floors were made of very light wood that was scrubbed bare.

Harry took out his wand and with a flick of it the dummies came to life and spells were shooting his way. With a bellow which contained all his worry, sorrow and anger, he dived head on in a duel with three dummies at the same time. In the heat of the battle he could channel every bit of frustration and fear that he had tried to bury deep in himself in the past week.

He had not noticed how much time had passed, until he heard someone gasp at the door. He turned around sharply and leveled his wand to the new threat. There, in the door opening with her hands raised stood Pepper. Her eyes were bulging out of their sockets. He suddenly realized that he had not erected any silencing wards._ Well, crap_.

* * *

Pepper could not remember ever having a worst week than the one she had had this week. Her boss, and friend to be honest, was taken by terrorist and could be dead for all she knew. Her other friend, and boss' lover, had shut himself up in his appartment by the news and for all she knew he had had an emotional breakdown. He did answer the phone, but as soon as the 'no news' part of the conversation was over he ended the call as soon as possible. When she'd had the audacity to ask him how he was handling everything before giving her the news, she was submitted to a fifteen minute rant how it was not about him at this moment.

So when there was a press lull at work, she had taken her chance and drove over to Harry's place. Pepper had knocked for five minutes, before she heard a sound like something was exploding. Without hesitation, she'd had used her key. Following the deafening noises she came to a door. Pepper was confused, as often as she'd been her in the past year, she _knew_ that behind the door was nothing but a closet. Suddenly unsure, she stood still in front of the door. Her hand half reaching for the knob, she did not know if she should let Harry be. It was good if he'd finally would let everything out. But would he need her for that? When she heard a scream she made a decision and opened the door.

What she saw was impossible to comprehend. Harry was fighting with animated dummies. His face set in anger and determination, he danced his way around the dummies. Attacking with a wooden stick? And the stick was more than just a stick, considering the colored beams that came out of the far end. Then with a half turn and a strange word, a red orange beam came out that blasted the dummy against the far wall. Pepper had not realized that she had made a noise, but suddenly she saw a fierce and angry Harry pointing his wand in her face. His eyes widened when he seem to recognize her in his door opening.

* * *

In the Headmistress' Office there was a gathering of four very different people. The first, the Headmistress herself, was an old but fierce Scottish witch. Anyone that had met her as her student, would vouch that you do not want to bring her anger over yourself. Not if you value your freedom and your housepoints.

Next to professor McGonagall stood a tall black wizard with a bald head. He normally exuded calm and could reassure anyone about anything. Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt was not his normal calm self however. His face stood grim and he seemed to be in doubt.

In front of the desk of McGonagall were a blonde witch and a brunette wizard. These two were the youngest of the four. The blonde witch had a dreamy air about her, her eyes seemed to focus on something in the distance. But where Luna used to the definition of innocent and wholesome, the scars on her arm and face proved otherwise. Neville was no longer the chubby forgetful boy he was during his younger Hogwarts years. The man that killed Nagini had grown out to be a strong and powerful wizard, who still had his big lover for plants.

These four magical persons were in the office for a reason; Harry Potter. Or more precisely; Harry Potter's Muggle. As soon as Harry had ended the floo call last week, McGonagall had gone to find Kingsley, Neville and Luna. As Harry had freed her of her Vow, she could explain everything to Neville and Luna. Kinglsey, who also still was in contact with Harry, had been shocked. He did not write with Harry as much as Minerva, but he also had known how happy Harry finally seemed to be. The war warried man Harry had been before he had fled to America, seemed to have been something of the far past.

Kingsley had been shocked when he heard that Tony had been taken. He had been horrified, when Minerva explained why Harry had not already went and retrieved him. Afghanistan, the nightmare for every sane wizard. When Minerva had come and explained the situation, his first instinct had been to apparate to the Ministry and find out what their options were. But no, he had to be present at the Memorial service. During the gongs that signified Harry's sacrifice, Kingsley had to bite the inside of his cheek. He was so close to call out the cheesiness of it all, the betrayel of his closest friends. They, in the end, all of them, only saw their savior, the Boy-Who-Lived. Never did they see Harry for _all_ that he was. Even for the Weasleys, Harry being gay was not fitting in with the picture they had drawn of him. So they had cast him out.

The next day, Kingsley had called upon his Unspeakables to get the picture why Afghanistan was such a nightmare. The stories he was told were worrying. The levels of ambient magic were too high to even be capable to light your wand with a lumos. If you'd try to use more powerful search or tracking spells, you'd risk your core. It was not an option to find him with magic. The muggles had not found him, the area where Tony disappeared was full of mountains and places where you could hide for years without being found.

Of course there were some magic users in Afghanistan. Researchers, recluses, and some native mages. It would seem that if Tony was to be found through magical means, that would be there only option. And it was a difficult one. During the nineteenth century, a lot of British and French wizards hunted the mages of the Middle-East. It was a matter of pride and prestige to have their staffs hanging over the mantle in their mansions. It decimated the desert mages severely. And made the current political relation with them testy at the best. They would not consent in finding a muggle, who supplied the foreign muggles in their countries with ways for warfare.

Luna suddenly spoke up. She knew Harry, and knew he was safe all these years. She could not explain it (not without the help of some creatures that nobody believed in) but knew that if Tony did not come back, their Harry as they knew him would be lost forever.

"Then why don't we go personally? With Harry as well? If we can not use spells, then we use our sight and feel."

The others looked at her. Sure, she had a point theoretically speaking. Every witch and wizard worth their salt could feel someone if they zoned in on that person. Personal belongings helped with that, a close bond help enormously.

"The problem with that mrs. Longbottom, is that we can only widen our scope so much. It would maybe not be like looking for a rock on a pebblebeach, but very much so hoping to be in the right place to see the kneazle in between the dragons." Kingsley already had it explained to him by the Unspeakables.

Luna nodded thoughtfully.

"Can't Harry feel him better than any of us? You told us, Minerva, that he has developed further in both magical theory and the practical use thereof. And he was already powerful ten years ago. His power levels would be considerably hightened over the decade. And the emotional connection would only make it that much stronger." Neville added in.

Minerva shook her head almost before Neville finished talking. "Harry is indeed much more powerful. This is also the problem for that area. Because of his strength, the ambient magic is much more volatile around him. Especially if he uses his emotional bond with mr Stark to funnel the search. It would almost certainly destroy his core in a matter of an hour."

Kingsley agreed and added a sombre afterthought. "I think we can not do anything for Harry or mr Stark in ways of finding him. The best we can do is a blessing ritual. Maybe that would at least increase his odds of survival."

The four lowered their eyes to the ground. They were the rare wizards that kept up with muggle news as well. Kingsley, of course, as his role as Minister of Magic required him to interact with his muggle counterparts. Minerva started to follow the muggle news after Harry had sent her a letter shocked in september 2001. They all knew how dire the situation in those parts was. If Tony could get out of there, it would be nothing short of a miracle.

Minerva rised out of her chair. "I best floo over to him and see if I can do anything for him. If we need you for a ritual of some sort, we will floo or owl."

"You intend to stay in America then, Minerva?" Kingsley was surprised, never before had Minerva abandoned her post at Hogwarts for anythinig but a visit to St Mungo's. Minerva nodded tersey.

"It is Friday evening now. Neville, together with Filius, can keep an eye on the place for the weekend. Harry needs someone right now. If I know that boy, he would be done with bottling everything up and progressed in to blowing up random objects in his home." Minerva commented dryly.

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Neville couldn't help but snort at the comment. Harry really had a scary temper when risen. He distinctly remembered Seamus being yelled at by Harry after he fished for the details of Cedric's death. "Give him our best, Minerva."

This resulted in gettin gslapped on the arm by his wife. "Do not be ridiculous Neville. Minerva sent him our love and tell him to keep burning citrus candles, Nargles will stary away like that in America." With that she rose and gave both Kingsley and Minerva a kiss ont he cheek, before gliding out of the office.

Neville shook his head bemusedly. "I know her for twelve years, married to her for seven, and still she manages to surpise me every day again." After a hasty goodbye to Minerva and Kingsley he followed his wife.

Kingsley looked at Minerva. She had aged a great deal since the end of the war. It showed in times like these, when one of her friends and favorite students was in such turmoil. "Tell him... Tell him that even though he is not here anymore, I garantee to do anything within my power to help him. I owe him that much."

Minerva smiled and grabbed her traveling cloak. With a brisk step she strode over to the fireplace and threw some powder in it. "Pronglet's nest, Marauders' cafe." With a roar she disappeared in the green flames.

Kinglsey was left behind in the office. "I owe him that much indeed," he whispered again before he too left the office, praying to the goddesses and Gaia, Morgana and Merlin, to bring Tony Stark home safely.


	6. The Good Ol' Golden Days

**A/N. All right, got in the flow yesterday after posting chapter 5 and wrote this immediately. It is a sort of a pause in the story, to get everything in the right place for the next one. It'll probably be up somewhere in the next week. **

**Some people were wondering if Andy and or Teddy, and the rest of the Weasleys would make an appearance. Yes Teddy definitely will get a part in this. he is almost at Hogwarts age.**

**To tip the veil just a little bit for the story; Sirius is not the only one who is sneaky enough to escape Azkaban. Iron man story line will of course be followed as well.**

**So here is chapter six! Enjoy and review!**

**cjb1990**

* * *

Harry didn't know how long he and Pepper were watching each other without speaking one word. It did not seem like Pepper would be capable of speach at all for the next few hours. He could understand that. It would be really shocking to find a friend of yours, dating your other friend, suddenly capable of destorying dummies with a wand and magic in all the ways a muggle could ever dream of.

"Uhm, I guess... I guess you kind of want to know something about this?" Oh, really well spoken you are Harry! That really makes her freak out any less.

Pepper couldn't do anything more than give a shaky nod with her head. Harry sighed, he hoped she could accept him with magic. It would give some back up if he told Tony. No, not _if_, he corrected himself, _when _I would tell Tony.

Harry leaded Pepper back out of the training room into his living room. He gently pushed her on the couch. "Tea? Coffee? Or something stronger?"

"Bourbon, or a martini, please," Pepper's voice was trembling. Harry nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, only to come back out with two tumblers and to different bottles of liqour.

"Firewishkey," Harry explained at Pepper's look. "It's a strong drink from back home. If I'm to explain it all to you, I definitely need some or actually a lot of it in my system." He poored out a glass of each and put the bourbon in front of Pepper. She knocked it back without a thought and proceeded to give herself another double shot. Harry followed her example, and suppressed a shudder when he felt the fire go down his throat. He hadn't drunk firewishkey in three years. He wasn't used to the feeling anymore.

Two shots later and his throat was numbed for the feeling. It appeared Pepper had come back to herself some, enough anyway to start her interogation.

"What _are_ you?" she asked. Harry cringed. Seriously? What? Next he knew she would come with a probe to research his internal organs.

"I am human. Just not the way you know them. The way I know is that there are different kinds of humans. I, I-," he paused and needed to take a deep breath to fortify himself to utter the words that could condemn his friendship with her. "I'm a wizard."

The silence that followed was one of the most deafening sounds he had ever heard. It was almost on par with the silent moments after Voldemort's death. Pepper seemed to be doubtful.

"A wizard? As in pointy hat, abracadabra, black cats?" Her voice was reproachful, like she thought that he tried to joke his way out. He couldn't blame her. It was a known tactic Tony employed to get out of her questions and rants, and it did seem ludicrous to imagine it. If he, as a tiny ten year old abused kid, had a problem believing a half-giant. He could not begin to understand the levels of cynism that would protect Pepper form believing it.

"Pointy hats? Only one celebrations, abracadabra is and never will be used for any spell. It's just jibberish. And black cats? They can be very sweet animals, but have no further meaning than any other colored cat." He smiled wistfully. "Let me tell you a story Pepper, a story about a tiny ten year old, whose biggest wish was to have an old family member come and wisk him away form his aunt and uncle." Pepper looked at him. He never really talked about his childhood with his aunt and uncle.

"You were raised by your aunt and uncle right? After that car accident?" She saw him smile wryly.

"Yes, well at least, that's what was told to me as long as I could remember by my aunt. Granted, they were also the people who made me believe my name was 'freak' or 'boy' until I started primary school." Here he was cut off by her horrified gasp. He saw the first vestiges of a red headed temper rise to the surface.

"Wait, Pepper, _wait_! I need to tell you all this, not to get your pity, but to make you understand. Please just hear me out, and afterwards you can do whatever. Well, as long as it is legit." he added the last part as an afterthought. He knew that her temper could rival Molly Weasley's and it could be scary to get in her way on a rampage.

Pepper took a deep breath to center herself and nodded tersely. She did not know what to think. Harry a wizard? The logical part of her brain tried to refute the claim almost immediately. But she had see him do weird and impossible things, just a few minutes ago. She would hear hhim out. It was the least she could do after three years.

"A week or so, before I turned eleven there came a letter in the mail. The weird part of it was, it was on parchment, it was scary accurately adressed and it was a letter for me. The adress said 'H. Potter, cupboard-under-the-stairs, Privet Drive 4, Surrey.' Like I said, scarily accurate." He saw her look, and hastily continued. "Yes, untill that time I had no room, I had my cupboard. My aunt and uncle were not the nicest people to me. I dealt with it, moving on."

"Does Tony know?" She questioned.

"About my aunt and uncle? Yes. Hard not to know when you see the scars. So he-"

"Scars! You have scars! Where?" Pepper's temper once again rised to the surface. With a resigned sigh – he knew he could not get out of this one – he turned around and lifted his shirt. He heard her shaky and horrified exclamation, and felt her trace the old white lines on his back.

"Oh my god! Harry! This, this is terrible. You lived through abuse like this, this is done by whipping or a, a-" "Belt," Harry grunted. He still did not like to think of his uncle's action so explicitive.

"Anyway, back to the letter. I stupidly took the thing into the kitchen. When my cousin Dudley, yes Pepper I know; horrible name. Anyway, he saw the letter and of course had to say something about it. My uncle took it from me, and almost fainted right there at the breakfast table. That night he moved me into a bedroom. Guess he was scared that they were spying on him."

"Were they, whoever they are?" Pepper was hopeful

Harry shook his head. "Nah, the adresses are written down by an enchanted quill." Pepper paled.

"So, after a week my uncle had enough. In that week the letters kept coming in the weirdest way. I guess one of my favorites is the day that dozen letters were smuggled inside eggs." Harry smiled reminisce smile on his face. "He tried to outrun them you see. Stupid fat-arsed bastard he was. In the end, we were with the four of us in a not very stable shack, on a rock, in the middle of the sea." Harry still could remember the little boat and the freaky old man without teeth.

"This was the night of my eleventh birthday. At exactly midnight, something or someone was banging on the door. Turned out to be a giant. At least that's what I thought. Few years later he turned out to be half-giant. Saw a picture of his dad once; he was tiny. I still haven't figured out how his father could have had sex with a giant!" Harry saw Pepper looking more bewildered.

"But maybe that's a discussion for another time. He gave me a letter and said his name was Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of the keys of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Finest school in Europe to learn magic. He told me I was a wizard. I didn't believe him at first; my aunt and uncle never told me anything about it. Turned out that my mum and dad were also magical."

Harry forced himself through the next part. Pepper saw his jaw clench and wondered what was about to come.

"He also told me what really happened back in eighty-one. Turns out, wizards are the same as the rest of the human population; there are rotten eggs everywhere. In the magical world they just are called dark wizards. Back then, there was a dark wizard by the name of Voldemort. He had it out for me and my parents. He murdered my parents and then tried to kill me. That's the origin of my scar," he touched his scar briefly.

"No car crash?" her voice was tiny. Harry couldn't help it; he chuckled at the question. "No car crash," he confirmed. "Just a curse that cannot be stopped. It's called the killing curse. It's use on a human, whether it hits true or not, is a one way ticket to the wizard prison for a life long stint."

When he wanted to tell her about Diagon Alley, a sudden bell sounded through the living room. Harry took his wand and swished it at the fireplace. The fire roared high, and from the corner of his eye he saw Pepper's mouth hanging open. 'Minerva McGonagall', was written in the flames. Harry turned to Pepper.

"Well, you're about to meet your first witch Pepper. It is my old Tranfiguration teacher, and well, actually one of the only ones whom I'm still in contact with."

To Pepper's astonishment the fire turned green, and a tall elder woman stepped out of the green flames. She wore a robe, an honest to god emerald robe! And she stepped out of a fireplace, like she was exiting an elevator. To her further shock, she just brushed the soot of her robe. The mysterious woman turned to Harry and gave him the mother of all hugs. Pepper braced herself, she knew Harry was not really a fan of physical contact with people in general.

So it shocked her when she heard a broken whispered, "Minerva" from him, before he returned the hug just as fiercely.

"Now, you listen to me Harry Potter! You did not break after everything in England, you will not break now! You will get him back, you here me! You are not going to lose him, we will not allow it and if I have to drag Merlin and Morgana from the afterlife to achieve just that, by Gaia, then I will!" The speech was in brogue Scottish and it was clear this woman was no-nonsense.

"Thanks, Minerva. Uhm, I guess I need to introduce you." At this the woman released Harry and turned to Pepper. "Oh, dear. And who is the young lady? From the descriptions you send me I guess you must be ms Virginia Potts." The woman looked her sternly in the eyes. Pepper didn't understand how the woman could make her feel like she was a junior in high school.

"Just Pepper, madam." she managed to tell her.

"Humph! These ridiculous nicknames and shortening of names! Honestly your parents graced you with a lovely name, be proud of it! My name is Minerva McGonagall, headmistress of Hogwarts and an old friend of young Harry Potter here."

Harry laughed, "So that is the reason you hated it when Sirius called you Minnie! But you never seemed to mind it when I called you that. So pot, kettle, black anywhere?" Pepper saw the thin lips curve up in a reluctant smile.

"No the reason I hate that name is because of Sirius. Swear on your magic never to repeat what I'm about to tell you." she stopped and waited for Harry to grab his wand and intoned the standard secrecy vow.

"In fifth year, Sirius had a lesson in Muggle Studies. They were talking about entertainment, and well, Disney movies were part of the curriculum." Minerva did not need to tell anymore, and Harry bursted out laughing.

"You're telling me that Sirius gave you a nickname because of an animated mouse!" Harry shook his head, it did seem something Sirius would have done in his younger years. Nickname a cat Animagus after a mouse.

"But enough of that Harry. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was acting under the impression that both ms Potts and mr Stark did _not_ know about magic." Harry smiled sheepishly.

"Uhm, well..." Minerva couldn't help the wave of nostalgia that swept over her by seeing Harry like this. It was the exact same expression he used to wear when he didn't finish homework in time and tried to come up with an excuse.

"If you do not tell me now, you will have to serve a detention with me mr Potter," At this, Harry snorted to her.

"Alright, alright! Pepper may have walked in on me venting at some enchanted training dummies." Minerva winced, not the best way to find out about magic.

"He, he was just explaining how he got a letter by a Rubeus Hagrid?" Pepper's voice was hesitantly, like she did not know if she was allowed to speak.

"Ah yes, this is where the famous pigtail comes into play, isn't it?" Harry nodded.

'But ms Potts, before he explains everything to you... I need to tell him some things." Harry whipped his head back to Minerva.

"Is there news?" Minerva hated to disappoint him.

"I'm sorry Harry." At this Harry's head sank to his chest. "Kingsley called the Unspeakables about Afghanistan. Luna came up with the best idea; to scope out by our sight and feel. But the area is to large. And I know what you're about to say, and yes you are powerful, much more powerful than the rest of us. But you also know the reaction ambivalent magic reacts to stronger cores." Minerva sighed defeated.

"The only thing we can do is a blessing."

Harry sat back on the couch, his head in his hands. "A blessing wouldn't help, it would increase his lifeforce, but if he is captured and well, tor- tortured... It would only increase the amount of life energy that would seep out of him because of the boost." Minerva nodded ruefully. It was onwise if that was a possibility.

"Luna wanted me to give all their love to you and," Minerva's face crunched a bit with this, "To keep burning citrus candles; it helps keeping the Nargles away in America."

Harry's eyes bulged; he had not spoken to Luna in ten years. How in the earth could she know that he used citrus candles for his meditation and occlumency?

"How long can you stay Minerva?" He hoped they had longer than a few hours. He did not want to admit it, but he needed the old witch right now. She was his rock when he was at his low point before, he needed her now on the edge of this black abyss.

Minerva smiled kindly. "Neville and Filius agreed to keep an eye out. I'm here the entire weekend."

Harry couldn't help it, and he started crying. He cried over his fears, the lingering hurt and pain, and the absence of his love. Minerva sat down next to him and in her arms she started to rock him back and forth.

Pepper couldn't help but cry silently as well. It was the first time she saw him cry, without any defenses. What she saw was a man that had been hurt more than she thought possible. The doorbell from the door downstairs sounded. Harry tried to get up, but Pepper shook her head.

"You stay here with Minerva, Harry. I take care of who's outside."

With a brisk tempo she went downstairs, all the while trying to keep her tears and confusion at bay. She did not understand what the hell happened to Harry before. But it seemed that he had kept even more from her and even Tony about his past then she'd ever could have imagined.

She opened the door and stood stock still. Before her stood a man with almost the same shade of fire red hear that she had. And he seemed to be missing an... ear? His face was filled with freckles. She could spot a few very light scars around the side of his face that was earless. The man grinned up at her.

"Well, from the look on your face I can tell you weren't expecting me. Just like I was not expecting you. Unless Harry has been lying all this time, you do not seem like his type. You know, not buff enough, and it seems you are missing certain equipment."

Pepper could only stare at him in shock. The guy spoke with a British accent. Was Harry's past holding a reunion here or something? Ten years apparently, without a word, but now they come flocking to his carcass?

"I'm sorry but who are you?" She did not sound polite, and right now she couldn't care any less. Harry was breaking down upstairs, in the arms of his old teacher. What was it she taught again, transmutation? Something like that. Here is a guy who's missing an ear, and clearly comes for Harry. And are they all just magically popping up here? She snorted inwardly. Magically popping up suddenly could be pretty close to the truth.

"You mean Harry has not told you about me?" the guy fake fainted. He stood back up immediately. "George Weasley, miss. At your service." He saluted. "Actually, I already had booked a ticked two months ago, to surprise Harry today. Guess lousy timing doesn't quite cover it, eh?"

"How did you find out where he lives," Pepper asked him. She was not going to let any someone in to the house.

George snorted. "Please, if he wanted to stay hidden, he would've used a fake name. I, unlike some other peope, am quite adept in googling. I just googled his name, and it cropped up from New York all the way to here in Malibu. And saw some juicy gossip down the trail as well."

Unlike some other people. She did know next to nothing about magic, but it did seem like he was hinting at it. Despite everything that was thrown upon her, she could still think fast on her feet.

"Unlike some other people? You mean, wizards?" Pepper tried to keep her tone as neutral as possible. George's face lighted up.

"You must be close to him then, if you're told the big secret. I mean, unless you're married to him, it is sort of illegal to break the Statute of Secrecy. But, for one, Harry never really kept to the rules. And two, concluding from the news, you must be the famous Pepper Potts. So, i guess that Tony's secrets are automatically your secrets as well."

Pepper snorted, hardly. "Or, an hour ago I just walked in on him blowing some dolls to smitherens."

George laughed, "Yes, that would work too."

Pepper decided the. "Okay, come on up. But one hint by Harry that he does not want you here and you're out." George did not delude himself by thinking she would not throw him back down the stairs, head first.

When they walked into the appartment, Harry seemed to have calm down some what.

"Well, if that isn't littel Harrikins. All grown up." George kept his tone light. He was shocked to see Harry so, so mature. The kid never was a child or anything, way to serious and way to many rounds of saving the school and the world. But the seventeen year old was gone. In his place was a very attractive twenty-seven year old man, whose world just collapsed. Again.

"George?" Harry sounded like he could not believe his eyes. "What are you doing here? And how did you find me!"

"I am here to surprise you, so surprise! And it isn't that hard you know, you're listed under your Marauders' cafe. Love the sign by the way, very much approved by the remaining Weasley twin." George winked at this part, before he turned serious.

"And more importantly, I'm here to help. Opening up shop, crying on my shoulder or emptying a bottle of Ogden's finest. I'm here." Harry's eyes watered slightly and with a weak smile he nodded gratefully to him.

"Alright. Now that we are all here. Could you please explain, I don't know, everything! You had a letter, to Hogwarts. I like to know how you can blow a dummy across the room!" Pepper needed answers, and she needed them now. And dammit, she needed something that could destract her from Tony and the constant nagging in the back of her mind wether he would return.

George looked at Harry. "Blasting Curse?" he asked off handedly. Harry nodded in confirmation. "I needed some, uhm, way to get everything out of my system." George nodded in understanding.

"Well, I'm up for the memoirs of Harry Potter; the Hogwarts years. So let's hear it." Minerva chuckled slightly. "George Weasley, you will never change into anything but unencouragable."

"That, dear Minnie, is something you should have realised by the start of my second year."


	7. Life as we knew it

**First of all: I am sooooo sorry for such a long time to update. I was in Spain for two weeks, and had forgotten to upload this chapter. I'll be gone tomorrow for another week, so next update will be a bit later as well. **

**second: Thank you for all the amazing reviews. I am almost at the 20,000 views for this story in one month. Really humbling. I am glad there are so many Tony/Harry lovers out there as well. I probably will start a new fic next to this one as well, either a Harry Potter fic or another Harry Potter crossover. So maybe updating of chapter will not be the once or twice a week that I promised earlier. **

**Anyway on with the story! As always reviews are very very very very very much appreciated!**

* * *

_Tony woke up not with a start the way he was used to. He couldn't open his eyes, and his limbs felt like led about to fall off his body. He found his feeling in his eyes, but still they refused to open up. What the hell had happened to him? He never had a hangover as bad as this. And that included the bet with a random hotshot that he _couldn't_ drink a bottle of wodka and a bottle of tequila back to back._

"_Tony?" that was a voice he recognised. But he never heard that voice in his head. It normally was either a pushing voice, claiming he could do better; the voice of his dad. Or it was a voice of conscience, claiming that he could make a better choice than take a random person home with him. This voice, however, was a voice he recognised anywhere. The voice that had driven him crazy now for months. The voice that said, when he was covered in flour, that he'd add upp the cost to next week's bill. The voice that he knew from saying 'no' over and over again. How come he heard this voice say his name in a pleading way?_

"_Please, Tony! You know you can here me." Damn straight he could here him. It was like a obnoxious game of hide and seek, he just couldn't seem to find a way to respond. No matter how much he wanted to._

"_Look Tony, I know I refused to go on a date with you time and time again." Well, at least he remained honest in his head. He didn't know why kept on trying, he kept refusing no matter what he tried to impress him. He realized that he should just give up, to just see him as a friend who could be relied on for great coffee and bagels and donuts. But something pulled him in. Something fascinated him about this guy. He seemed distant, and cool, and completely confident. But that was the crux; he _seemed_ it all. He wasn't really all this stuff. Tony wanted to know what lay behind the mask that he so artfully had created. Thus far, he had refused any advances behind what he deemed safe. But damn it! He would get to know the person behind! He would know all his grieve and strife and sorrow._

_This alone would be enough of a shock to those who claimed to know Tony Stark, playboy. He did not needed to know about those he took to bed. He just wanted great sex. He did not need someone to get close to him. He had Rhodey, he had Pepper, and that was it. He did not need anything more. But somehow Harry Potter got under his skin. He had to be the one to know what made him tick. And he knew he just broke up with that jack ass of a Jay. So this was it, the moment, the window of opportunity he had to grab._

_Harry didn't take though. Not that he could blame him. He had criticized him and everything around him to the upmost degree ever since he got to know the cafe-owner. And Harry knew better than anyone what he was about. Somehow he managed to cut straight through all his talk, and said exactly what was wrong or right in a situation. _

"_Tony please, I beg you please open your eyes. I know I've been an ass to you. It still isn't an excuse to just ignore me, especially if you like me the way you claim." Again this voice of him cut straight to the bullshit. Harry was right; he should wake up just to prove that he liked Harry as much as he tried to convene all these months. How long can the great Tony Stark pursue one person for a date? He used to think fifteen minutes was his record. It turned out that months and counting was a closer guess._

"_Listen Tony, I know I refused to go on a date with you. But, I was scared. Jay hurt me alright! He hurt me bad, because I liked him badly. And he turned out to be a bigger arse to me, than my old Chemistry teacher could've ever been. But now... now I know that I was scared that you were just like him. And I hope you are not, I really hope you're not. Because if you open your eyes, and ask me once more to go out with I'll say yes. God Tony, it has come to close to know what it means to lose you." _

_Tony heard Harry sigh deeply, like he was trying to keep tears at bay. But that was just ridiculous; Harry never cried. He was the epitome of cool and collected, no matter what stress or crap came his way. Then he realized what Harry had said; he agreed to go out with him! So now, he had to find his way to his eyelids and manage to open them up. For there was no way that he would not keep Harry to his promise he just made._

_After a couple of hours of no luck opening his eyes, he heard the tell tall click of Pepper's heels._

"_Any change?" She sounded wary and tired, like she had to endure the weight of the entire world on her shoulders._

"_No," breathed Harry back. "But it can't take much longer." Was that an optimistic note in Harry's voice?_

"_Why do you say that?" Pepper inquired, despite herself and the doctors advice, curious._

"_I just agreed to dating him, he finally got what he wanted for moths. If that isn't an incentive to wake up, I don't know what is anymore." He heard a small chuckle, that must have been Pepper. She was probably grinning at Harry, while thinking that it was inapproprate to joke at a time like this._

_He felt himself fall back into the darkness, before getting back out again. He again heard Harry, encouraging him to wake up. Again heard him say he would try to date him, but that he better not try and cheat on him if they got together._

_After many more hours he finally managed to lift his eyelids. The sight before his eyes was beautiful; Harry, who did not shave for two days by the looks of it, hanging over his bed with worried eyes. _

_Tony tried to talk, but ended on dry coughing. Harry reappeared in his eyeline with a cup with a straw out of it,_

"_Water, drink it." It was clearly an order of the Brit. Obediently he took the straws between his lips. When sucked, he felt the blis of the cold water hitting his mouth and throat. After he emptied the cup he tried again._

"_So," he croaked, he coughed again. "So, now you owe me a date." Harry smiled braodly at this._

"_You heard that, eh? I should've known, sneaky bastard. So, yes, I guess I do owe you a date. But only once you're out of here. I do not do patient dating." he huffed up in mock disgust at the last part, and Tony could not help but smile. Harry and he were going on a date! Sure, it may have taking him going in a hospital, but it worked eventually!_

"_So, Harry, what happened to me?" Harry's face darkened._

"_You, my genius, thought it a brilliant plan to curve your car around an electricity post on your way to Marauders'. Pepper called me. She, me and Happy have been vacationing around your bed for the past two days." Harry was reprimanding him._

"_Don't pull a stunt like that _ever_ again. If you die the next time, I'll draw you back in the life, just to punish and kill you myself. Then I do the same thing again, so Pepper can have a go as well. In the end I'll be merciful and shoot you before agreeing to let Happy use you as a punching bag!"_

_Right, note to himself; do not get in any car crashes anymore. It brings out temper and scary threats in Harry._

Tony woke up with a start. Every night in this hell hole, he dreamed about his memories of Harry and him. First date, first time sex (not that he complained about those dreams), Harry bringing him back with his voice in the hospital.

He looked around. The cave was filled up with his rockets, and bazooka launchers, and everything possible that would need to build a Jericho missile. Or something else... His savior, Yinsen as he'd learnt, had clearly told him he only had a week with his crude electromagnet. That would not do. he would have to be dragged into death. Kicking and screaming and still they would not take him beyond, before he got the chance to say Harry that he loved him.

They had taken all the palladium they needed from the cores of the rockets, yesterday. Today was melting around the copper wiring. He sincerely hopes Yinsen had as steady a hand he claimed to have.

"Careful! Careful! We only have one shot at this!" Tony stood not a foot away from Yinsen as he made the way from the maeshift forge to the mold.

"Relax, I have steady hands. Why do you think your still alive?" He poored the melted metal in the mold, without spilling anything. Tony could not be anything but impressed.

Right now, it was time for him to get to work. He needed to fix his heart, otherwise he would never get back to his life. He worked the entire day and night. Yinsen looked over his shoulder at the finished product.

"That does not look like a Jericho missile," he breathed while looking entranced at the device on the table.

"That's because it is a miniaturized arc reactor. I've got a big one powering my factory at home. It can get keep the shrapnel out of my heart." And keep him alive, and get them out of there and back to Harry, Pepper and Rhodey.

"But what could it generate?" Yinsen asked.

"If my math is right – and it always is – three gigajoules per second."

"That could warm your heart for fifty life times." Yinsen pointed out awed.

Tony responded with a, "Or something big for fifteen minutes." He stood up and walked towards some papers that were lying criss cross over a table. He gathered them and layed them over each other.

"This is what can get us out of here."

"What is it?" Yinsen could only see the top drawing of some part of what he would assume to be the missile.

"Line them out and look." He straightened the papers out. The thin see through papers pressed together showed a big metal soot with a mask and what seemed to be the arsenal of a small army.

"Hmm," Yinsen made a sound of understanding. "Impressive," he smiled a little at Tony in anticipation.

* * *

Pepper looked at Harry, Minerva and George. She knew her eyes were probably bulging out and her jaw stood a jar. But she couldn't find the proper muscles to close her mouth and return her eyes to normal.

"_That _all happened when you were eleven?" she finally managed to choke out. He had to face his parents' murderer at the age eleven. Kill the man who was hosting the wraith as Harry had called him. And all the little hints this Dumbledore used to manipulate the young child. She feared she would be ill at any second. Truing to find her center she took deep breaths. When the world stopped spinning she looked at Minerva.

"And YOU!" when an eleven year old comes to you saying that there is danger, don;t you think you should listen before you discard it as a childish prank!" Her red headed temper came looking around the corner now. Minerva looked down with a sad look on her face. She knew how much she had failed Harry at Hogwarts.

She looked up at the hand on her arm. Harry looked at her with a wistful smile. "Would it've helped if she believed me? Yes probably. However, she'd be dead now." At the indignant look on Minerva's face he chuckled darkly. "Quirrell couldn't touch me Minerva. Voldemort was too damn curious what became of the baby that bested him. Any teacher however would've faced the full wrath of him from the dead go. At the Final Battle you, Kingsley and Slughorn duelled him and couldn't drive him back." Minerva was forced to accept this. Though judging by the look on her face, she did not seem to like this at all.

"Blimey Harry, I knew you always told us you were a magnet for trouble. But hearing all the details like this. You were a crazy boy, you know that right?" George did not manage the light tone he was striving for. But damn it! Harry had faced Moldyshorts at the end of his first year. He was entitled to being shocked. How much trouble did he end up getting in!

Harry stood up with another dark chuckle that seemed to accept George's opinion. He walked in to the kitchen and soon after got back in the living room with a plate of snacks and two more glasses floating behind him. He quickly filled three glasses with Firewhiskey and one with bourbon for Pepper. He left the bottles in front of them.

The others didn't need any words. They knocked back the drinks and went for seconds again. After fifteen minutes of silence and eating some of the snacks Harry had brought, Harry cleared his throat. "Let's tell you everything then."

And they did. They talked about the next years, Harry told Pepper about the deaths. Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, Moody, Ted Tonks. He told her about the horcruxes. The capture in Malfoy Manor, hearing Hermione getting tortured. The settling of the life debt of Wormtail. Breaking into Gringotts. And finally the Battle of Hogwarts.

It was deep in the night when they were done. She was reeling with Harry's story. She didn't want to believe it. Not about magic, that seemed like a inconsequential little thing compared to the war and loss that made up Harry's past. She looked at George, who was pale and had a haunted look in his eyes.

He had explained to her that the death of a twin was so much more than the death of a close sibling in the wizard world. There was a bond on such a deep level, that to lose one meant an aching empty feeling where the bond used to be.

Pepper felt with shock that her cheeks were wet with her tears. "Why- why did you move to the States?" Her voice trembled with the sobs she so desperately wanted to let out. But she could see one their faces that there was no room for tears anymore. They had hardened and lost. Mourned the dead and tried to pick up the pieces.

Harry's face darkened. His eyes were lost in a pain that went deeper than Pepper could percieve. Minerva layed her hand on his shoulder. "Harry, do not put this on yourself. Your friends should have stood by you, not condemn you."

George nodded, "Minerva is right Harry. Although I must say I never could've imagined mum running as fast as she did." he laughed at the memory of a cursing and blazing McGonagall chasing his mother of the Hogwarts grounds. Harry looked at George with confusion written all over his face.

Minerva turned to Pepper. "Harry wanted custody over his godson Teddy Lupin. Bu his grandmother Andromeda wanted custody as well. She used an underhand trick, claiming that Harry was unfit to raise a child." Pepper exclaimed angry at this. Harry was the sweetest and steadfasted man she knew. Granted the man she knew best was Tony Stark, but still!

The old woman nodded in agreement to Pepper. "Yes, she went to Kingsley saying he would need therapy after all the loss and war in his young life."

"She was right about that one Minerva. I was messed up because of everything. But Teddy was, is, the light to which I was fighting. The next generation, our children for whom we wanted to make the wizard world a better place." Harry knew how broken he was after the fighting was over and done. He knew that he had needed the therapy. But he had needed Teddy as well. And Andromeda did not allow him any alone time with the baby.

"Yes, yes, you were in need of some mental guidance. But you were not insane, nor broken by the war. You would not flip when looking after your cub!" Minerva was fierce in her response, she knew that Harry's biggest regret was that he was not there to see Teddy grow up. That he would not have any father figure in his life, not one adult to nurture his Marauders' heritance. "Anyway, yes Harry went to therapy, counseling for everything he went through. But well,-" Minerva broke off.

Harry smiled at the woman his grandmother for all intents and purposes. "I did not realize my sexual preference till the end of the war. I struggled with the guilt of a lot of the dead, and I wanted to give survivors something to live for. Especially my friends. And Ginny, well, I knew she was waiting for me. But I couldn't. And then, the only person I told about this was my Mind Healer. But it ended up in the papers." Harry had to swallow, but could not continue.

George picked up where Harry had broke off. He knew how much hurt there still was over the fight with his family. Hell, he even hardly spoke with his mother after he heard what she did to Harry. After everything he did for their family she threw him out because he could not live his life for others anymore. "Let's just say a lot of people did not take the news that their savior was bend really well." George's words were proof of how disgusted he still was with what happened.

"My mum and Ginny got into a full blown row with Harry. Ginny claiming that Harry had proposed to her after the Battle. Hermione and Ron, well they turned their backs on Harry here. In the end, I guess the only ones left on his side were Minerva, Neville, Luna, Kingsley and me." George sighed.

"The Wizard World sounds like a revolting place to me. I know how the public can be fickle, hell look at a tabloid every week and you'd get a whiplash by how fast public opinion on Tony changes. But this, family! It's, it's" Pepper could not put in words how angry she was by what happened a decade ago.

"We know ms Potts, we know. We try to change it, but it is hard. People will always be scared of what they don't know or understand." Minerva sighed heavily, she was tired. Tired of fighting an uphill battle to change the mindset of the young witches and wizards at Hogwarts, to only see them fall back in their ways after graduation.

"Well, I can't say I handled that all very well. It was the straw that broke the camels back," George snickered at this. "Shut up George, it's just the Muggle expression for 'the drop that exploded the cauldron'. I went to Minerva and broke down. She showed me that I had nothing to stay in Britain for and could start over somewhere else. I went to the States, staid first in New York and learned as much as I could there about different aspects of magic. Then to Michigan, South Dakota, untill I ended up here in Malibu."

Pepper stood up and knelt down in front of Harry. "I am going to hug you, Harry. And there is nothing you can do about it. You're still you, the best damn cook that I know, boyfriend of Tony Stark, and best friend of me. We'll get Tony back, if only so I can see the look on his face when you tell him your a wizard and that not everything is science." With those words she drew Harry in her arms, where he staid with a small chuckle at her last words.

"Aaaw, if that isn't cuter than a pigmypuff I don't know what is," stagewhispered George to Minerva.

She looked at him with a fierce glare. "You've not been my student for twelve years mr Weasley, but don't think I will not punish you for your behavior. The only difference here is that now I am not bound by proper conduct for a teacher."

George gulped, Minerva McGonagall punishing you without restraint was a scary thought.

Harry was laughing in Pepper's arms. He felt relieved that she'd accepted him, everything about him. George and Minerva were here, supporting him. If only Tony could sit right there in the chair with his scotch, his life would be good. He sighed, if only. If only indeed.


	8. As Time Went By

**A/N Hello everyone. Thanks for the reviews from last chapter. i like it that people seem to agree with how I tried to portray the relations. This is the last chapter that is only Iron Man related. from next chapter the storyline from the Potterverse will be introduced as well. Anyways here is chapter 8!**

**As always: enjoy and review please!**

* * *

"Pepper, are you sure we can just crash here in the mansion? I mean, Tony isn't _here_!" Harry's voice still broke over the last part.

It had been almost three months still his boyfriend dissappeared, but every day was the same hell. He would've figured that he got used to it now. The opposite, however, was true. Everyday when he woke up, he expected the warm, well toned body of Tony next to him. And every morning his heart sank when his arm only met cold linnens.

"Harry, your place is a mess right now. I honestly can't imagine what George was thinking!" The last part was an exclaimation filled with helplessness. Harry couldn't hold back the little laugh. That weekend George once again had come to visit and show moral support to Harry. He had also brought his work with him.

"I need to finish this potion. Traveling with it shouldn't be a problem, but if I don't add the final ingredients with the correct set of stirs, well it goes boom." George had talked in confident and ernest tones, convincing Harry to make use of his appartment.

The potion still went boom though. Along with half of the interior of his house. Harry had been a scary sight, when he discovered the state of his kitchen. George still carried boils, not managing to make them dissappear. Harry had told Pepper that he locked the hex with his own magical signature. It could only be broken by someone with more magical energy. As Harry was on of the most powerful wizards in the world, that was unlikely to happen. So George was stuck with the boils until Harry felt merciful. Which, as he already told George, would be when his kitchem was fixed.

The problem was that until the kitchen (and the wall between the training room and the kitchen, not to mention a part of the living room as well) was repaired, the appartment was uninhabitable. Pepper had offered him her couch, but she lived in a shoebox appartment, and was currently dating an accountant. He did not want to impose on her, he knew she had her third date planned for tomorrow.

So Pepper had proposed Stark Mansion. Harry already knew the place backward and forwards, and had all the space he needed in the mansion. The only ones who came in were Obediah, Rhodey and Pepper herself, and it was a manageable distance from Marauders'.

Harry had been reluctant to agree, afraid of the demons that would linger in the rooms. He had a hard enough time keeping it together in his own home, let alone in the bedroom were he always slept in Tony's arm, naked most of the times.

Pepper's voice brought Harry back from reminiscing. "Harry, if anyone could crash her, it would be you. I'm sure that Tony would have insisted if he'd be here. Hel, he would've seen it as the highest of insults if you _didn't_ sleep here." Harry conceded to that. He could clearly picture the look of outrage on his face, and speed talking through an explanation with convulated logic.

After he had put his things away in Tony's bedroom, he went back downstairs. He and Pepper had dinner together, before she went home. She had another press conference early in the morning, about the future of Stark Industries now that Tony Stark was publicly considered as good as dead.

* * *

It had been a month ago, when the first news channel had claimed that Tony was probably killed in Afghanistan. The lack of ransom tapes, news, or smoke signals were enough for the channel to claim the genius had been killed.

The army had responded the same after a month of combing out the desert. There were countless hiding spot in the mountainous region he'd disappeared in. Rhodey had come to Harry to explain it. he didn't agree with the decisions of his superiors, but couldn't fault their logic or that of the news channels. It had been quite the interesting conversation with Harry.

"Look Harry, I want to believe Tony is still alive. You know I do. but frankly I'm not so sure anymore. And it breaks my heart, it does." Rhodey almost could not hold back the tears in his eyes as he stood at the bar in the kitchen with a beer in his hands. Harry stood in front of him leaning against the counter, his own beer i his hands and a frown on his face.

"You guys at the Army are all idiots." Rhodey was shocked with the strong proclamation. "Morons! What was Tony doing in Afghanistan, huh? Introducing a completely new missile system. Not an improvement, but actually a completely different missile. Why would they want ransom, or let anyone know who's got him. If they can convince him to build the thing, they can fight back against you guys!" Harry's check on his temper and anger bursted like a soapbubble.

"But no! Why would anyone think along these lines! Why would we not want t o be blindsighted by the bad guys having the same level of equipment as us! Did you even think how they would go and try to convince the most stubborn bastard in the world to build something he doesn't want to build for them!" Harry's breathing was heavy.

Rhodey looked at him like he was a bird locked in the gaze of a much larger predator. He had to admit, that he did not think about the Jericho missile at all. The army had ordered the missiles frmo Stark Industries, it was a competely different matter besides the taking of Tony. But he knew that most of the missile had been of Tony's own design. "We are a bunch of idiots," he whispered to no one in particular.

"So get back to your officers, tell them this and get back out their and search every fucking cave if you have to!"

Needless to say, Rhodey had quickly left the irratic cook in the kitchen to go back to his superiors with this angle. Their was still a small unit that constantly searched for the missing industrialist. Even though they did not held high hopes, Harry had scared them sufficiently with the idea of a Jericho missile in the hands of terrorists.

* * *

Harry laid in bed alone that night. He had grabbed Tony's pillow, but after almost three months the smell had almost completely faded from the fabric. He couldn't help the few tears that fell from his eyes from this discovery. He quickly stepped out of bed and retrieved one of Tony's old work shirts (a brown Black Sabbath shirt with grease stains all over it) to wear to bed. The shirt still smelled of the man, thank God. With the shirt wrapped firmly around him he fell asleep.

_Harry slowly woke up from a heavy slumber. He did not want to wake and face the world. Yesterday evening had been hard enough without having to face the world another day. He turned over and buried his head face first in his pillow. _

_He was distracted from his attempts to fall back asleep by featherlight touches to his back. To his surprise they followed the lines of his old scars. He suddenly realized that the touches were close mouthed kisses on the old lines on his back. Harry couldn't keep still and wiggled around a bit. He was feeling embarresment over the scars. They still felt like a testomony of his weakness in his youth._

_The mouth didn't stop though, it kept putting kisses on the scars, methodically going from the top of his back, slowly working down._

_Harry tried to turn over, but strong hands forced him to remain on his stomach. The hands that had grabbed his hips, slowly worked over the line of his boxers as the kisses lingered longer on his skin. The hands paused at the back of his boxers, if the fingers just dipped inside they would caress his crack. The knowledge hardened Harry, and he couldn't help the moan that left his mouth._

_The hands took this as permission and dipped under the line of the boxer. The grip was firm as they grabbed his cheecks, slowly massaging the round globes of flesh. Harry was now full hardened, and again tried to roll over. Not in embarresment, but to kiss the mouth that came with those hands._

_He was allowed to turn over and quickly grabbed the head hanging over him for a deep kiss. A tongue licked over his lips, and he quickly opened them to allow the tongue in. A deep moan of contentment was swallowed by the other mouth._

_The hands left his butt and made quick work of his boxers. Harry kicked them off the last part. He now lay naked under him. _

"_What do you want gorgeous?" the voice was husky, teeth grazing his earlobe._

"_You," Harry couldn't keep the want and lust out of his voice._

"_What do you want of me, Harry?" The teeth and tongue still working over his earlobe, Harry couldn't help but lean back in the sensation._

"_Touch me, everywhere. Take me, make me yours." If Harry was fully awake, or not so preoccupied, he would have blushed beet red at the words that came out of his mouth. But the man only chuckled darkly once._

"_As you wish."_

_The hands worked their ways across his thighs, as the mouth started licking and biting a sensitive spot in his neck. Harry moaned at the combination, his cock screaming for attention. The hands made circuits that cut close to it, but manage to avoided._

"_Please, Tony, please. Touch me." Harry pleaded with the man above him. Suddenly and unexpected a hand closed around him. Harry gasped at the sensation, as Tony slowly pumped his hand up and down his cock._

_His entire body tingled, and he wanted more, desperately needed more. Tony seemed to realize what he wanted for he stopped his track of kisses in his neck. For a few seconds he did not toch Harry at all, before surpising him by swallowing him whole. Harry cried out and his hips buckled up, trying to get more of the wet warmth that was around his cock._

_Tony did not restrain his hips, but let him ride his mouth. Now and then humming around Harry's cock, which caused him to scream as the vibrations reached it. _

_Harry felt fingers at his lips and obediently opened his mouth. The fingers immediately plunged into his mouth, and Harry sucked on them, twirling his tongue around them. His precome leaking form hic cock directly on Tony's tongue._

_Suddenly the fingers were replaced by a mouth. Harry could taste his own precome on Tony's tongue. This only aroused him more, and he groaned wantonly in the kiss._

_Harry felt a wetted finger around his hole, teasing the muscles and wetting them with his own saliva. He wriggled against the finger, trying to get it inside of him. Tony teased him some more, then breached the hole with his finger. _

_Harry arched into the sensation, it had been so long since he last did this. Tony wriggled his finger a bit, before starting to bring his finger in deeper and pulling it out again. Soon enough Harry's hole didn;t give any resistance, and Tony added a second finger. Turning the tow fingers left and right, tony relished in the sounds Harry made._

_Slowly he pumped the two fingers in and out, scissoring them all the while. After Harry was accustomed to two fingers he added a third. He searched for the spot, and finally after some time Harry mewled loudly, arching his bed._

_'Do you like that gorgeous, do you want more of this, hmm?" Harry let the husky voice flow over him whil ehe tried to breath through the sensation Tony created with his prostate. _

"_More! Please Tony more!" Harry couldn't care about how he sounded anymore. The feelings that Tony gave him with his fingers was incredible. He vaguely heard the telltale ripping of a condom package, and slicking sounds. When Tony had prepared himself sufficiently, he withdrew his fingers from Harry._

_He was left feeling empty, and he needed something to alleviate the tension in all of his muscles. Tony lined up against Harry's hole and let himself sink slowly into the warm tight heat that was Harry. _

_Harry gasped when he felt Tony enter him, the burn was something he had not experienced in quite some time. When Tony had entered balls deep, he held still. He felt the muscles in Tony's thighs tremble with the effort to hold still. _

_When the burn faded somewhat, Harry wriggle his ass and clamped down a bit to get Tony moving. He heard a gasp that turned into the most enticing moan he had ever heard, and Tony started to move in earnest._

_It didn't take long for Tony to find Harry's prostate again. With determination he started his assault against it, relishing in the pleading and begging sounds Harry made under him. He speeded up, plunging deeper and faster in Harry, before he felt Harry stiffen and suddenly scream out loud._

_The sensation of Harry's muscle clenching and unclenching around him was enough to bring Tony over the edge as well. With a bellow he emptied in the plastic while pistoning in Harry's arse._

_Harry felt Tony collapse next to him. He winced when after a few moments Tony slid out of him and discarded the used rubber. He was pulled into a strong embrace and felt the kiss against his forehead._

"_What you told me yesterday, it changes nothing. Well it changes that I am in awe of you, but how I feel about you is not changed." Harry frooze in Tony's arm. He managed to keep his muscles from trembling, and nodded jerkily into Tony's chest._

"_Besides, I need to keep you knwo gorgeous. Sex this good is hard to come by." Harry bursted out in laughing at this._

* * *

With a start Harry woke up from his dream, not knowing that half a world away the object of said dream woke up from exactly the same dream.

Tony laid on his cot trying to control his breathing. And trying to think away his hard on. Being captured by terrorists was hard enough. Having dreams of his Harry and not having him next to him was a torture all on his own.

After a few minutes he rose from his cot and went back to work. Forging the metal was tricky at best, and the end result would be a heavy unaerodynamic monster of a suit. But it would work, hopefully.

That evening he and Yinsen had a game of backgammon.

"Oh, good roll, good roll," Yinsen said as response to the roll that kept Tony in the lead.

"Still have to tell me where your from." Tony said to him.

"I'm from a small town called Gulmira. It's actually a nice place."

"Got a family?" Tony questioned. Yinsen seemed like a family man.

"Yes," Yinsen told him, "and I will see them when I leave here." Tony looked at the man. Something seemed of about the way he said that. But he could not place his finger on waht exactly.

"And you Stark?" Tony grabbed the dices and handed them back over.

"Well, I have something, someone who probably is waiting for me. Ready to kick my ass to kingdom come when I return."Tony snorted.

"What is her name?" Tony laughed at this. "His name is Harry, and I fucked up more with him than I planned. He was beyond pissed that I went to the weapons demonstration."

"So you're a man who has everything, and willing to lose it all for a demonstration."

Tony tried to subdue the wince, that last comment coming too close to home for his liking. It had been something that Harry told him in one of their fights. That he was so selfish, that it would probably destory everything because he could not give in when needed.

About a week later, when the forging was almost done the doors of their prison suddenly opened. Tony looked up from where he was welding two metal plates together. A group of armed men came walking through the door. Yinsen and Tony raised their hands behind their heads as the men trained their guns on them.

Behind the men stepped up a bald guy. Everything about this man screamed danger. His eyes were dark and cold, it was easy to tell that this was a man that had no scruples whatsoever about killing people.

"Relax." he told Tony. Slowly and confused, Tony lowered his hands. He did not feel like relaxing with this man in front of him.

The man walked up and touch the arc reator in Tony's chest. Tony had to suppress the feeling of batting the hand away.

"The bow and arrow, once was the pinnacle of weapons technology. It allowed the great Djenghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great. And four times the size of the Roman Empire." walking around he looked through the blue prints of the different parts of the suit.

"But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons, rule these lands. And soon, it'll be my turn." he walked in front of Tony. He suddenly spoke in a different language to Yinsen, without differing his gaze from Tony.

"Why do you dissappoint me?" He asked Yinsen.

"We are working." Yinsen answered timidly. From the tone alone Tony could hear the danger of that man. "Diligently."

Finally the man looked at Yinsen. "I let you live, and this is how you repay me?"

"It is very difficult, he is trying very hard." The man kept looking at Yinsen, Tony did not like this situation, if his gut feeling was any indication.

It seemed he was right when Yinsen was forced on his knees by two of the goonies. The leader turned to the fire, and grabbed a coal with the tonsils lying in the fire. Yinsens' head was forced on the anvil.

Tony could not understand what he wanted. While the two kept on talking he decided to intervene. "What does he want." he demanded.

He heard the leader asking a question, one that Yinsen answered with something 'jericho'. He decided that enough was enough. He would not let Yinsen be mutilated with a glowing red charcoal if he could help it.

"What does he want, a delivery date" he asked and took a step forward. This resulted in yelling from the rest of the men, who kept their guns on him. He raised his hands. Silence reigned, when the leader turned to him. Holy fuck, this man was scary as hell! Tony tried swallowing his fear to keep his voice steady.

"I need him, he's a good assistant." he insisted. The leader looked at him, and put down the charcoal on the anvil, not a few inches from Yinsen's face.

"You have to tomorrow to assemble my missile." with those parting words, he disappeared from their cave, followed by the men.

Yinsen sacked down in relief against the anvil. He looked over at Tony, they both knew what this meant; they only had one night left to finish their escape plan.

* * *

**I have a question for you all: do you want to get only Teddy introduced to the people in America, or Andromeda as well? let me know**


	9. Highway out of Hell

**Yeah, so no. No excuse for not uploading two months. just SORRY! and love you for all the reviews and following and I actually went over the 45,000 hits today. Yeej! So here's another chaper. Tony is finally breaking out. so Enjoy and Review!**

* * *

"Say it again"

"41 steps straight ahead, 16 steps that's from the door, fork right, 33 steps turn right."

… … …

"Initialize the power cyclus. Now!"

"Alright! Tell me, tell me."

… … …

"I'm going to buy you more time."

"Stick to the plan! STICK TO THE PLAN! YINSEN!"

Tony watched the progress bar anxiously. He heard the gunfire of the gun Yinsen was holding moving further into the caves.

… … …

Tony walked around in the heavy Mark I suit. Around one of the last corners, he saw Yinsen lying on a few sacks by the wall.

"Yinsen!" he yelled.

"Look out!" he cried feably.

Tony looked in the direction Yinsen was pointing. There stood the leader with a heavy artillery machine gun. He shot of his round, Tony managed to lean out of the way.

Without hesitation, he lifted up his left arm and shot off a round. It hit the wall behind the bald terrorist. It blew up and knocked him right off his feet. Tony walked over to Yinsen. He was scared when he saw the man breathing with difficulty.

"Stark," Yinsen spoke breathlessly.

Tony lifted his face guard. "Come on, we've gotta move. We have a plan, we've gotta stick to it."

"This was always the plan Stark." Yinsen confessed. Tony was shocked, what did he mean?

"Come on, you going to see your family. You've got to get up. Let's go!" Harry, Tony thought to himself. He couldn't imagine Yinsen not wishing to see his fmaily again.

"My family is dead," spoke Yinsen. "I'm going to see them now Stark. It's okay. I want this, I want this."

Tony had to look away. He understood Yinsen perfectly. He just didn't want to accept that the man who had been his steady companion in this hellhole was dying before his eyes.

"Thank you for saving me," he spoke sincerely.

"Don't waste it, don't wast your life," Yinsen implored him. He managed a few more lungfills of breath before he passed away on the sacks, closing his eyes.

Tony felt his eyes stinging, but refused to acknowledge that tears were trying to make their way out of them. He turned his head abruptly away. He still needed to get out of there. But leaving the man behind hurt. It hurt him deeply.

Taking one last look at the body that only moments before still held the gentle man, his friend, he said a silent goodbye to his friend.

… … …

Tony landed in the desert with a hard and painful crash. After a few minutes of getting his bearings, half buried in the sand, he managed to take of his helmet. With a sigh he leaned backwards.

"Not bad," he commented to no one in particular.

Harry, I'm coming. Just a little bit longer, he thought to himself.

* * *

Three months to the date. Thirteen weeks. Ninety-one days, all came down to one thing; torture. The worst thing is not knowing. He didn't know what. He didn't know who. He didn't know why. And most imporantly; he didn't know where.

Harry looked around Marauders' with a sad look in his eyes. The place was full, as always. After the first week of crying himself hoarse, he put on his big boy pants and reopened for business. And the people were all understanding, and sympathetic, and most disgustingly; full of pity for him.

Yes torture was the best way to describe what Harry was feeling. He was back into his appartment. George had repaired the damages wrecked by the exploding potion. And relieved himself of his boils.

Pepper had been surprised how both men had taken it. She had expected one of them to be sour, and aggravated by one of the two instances. But Harry had taken a tour of his appartment, said a few spells here and there, and had given his approval. Upon his word, George had become boils-free. Running to a mirror, he had inspected his face, making sure all the boils were gone.

After his inspection he had grinned, and with a 'Fair enough, Harrikins. Good match, old chap' skipped out the door. Harry had grinned and given him a two-fingered salute. Upon seeing Pepper's confusion he had explained.

"Being friends with George equals destruction to your property. You just need to know how to manage it. For me, it always is humiliating spellwork on his face or... other body parts. And he knows the deal fix the mess, get unblemished again. It gives us both the chance of freeing our creativity." Harry chuckled his way through his explanation, remembering all the different ways he cursed George and Fred at Hogwarts.

Pepper hadn't been able to do anything else but nod. She still couldn't get why Harry was so cool under the destruction of his entire appartment.

That had been a week ago. And Harry was happy to be back here. Here, there were less ghosts around. In Stark Mansion, he was expecting to see Tony around every corner. He haunted his every dream. It had taken him three days to realize that, no, he did not need to make Tony a super strong espresso on waking up.

But the worst part of it all; he was used to it now. After three months, he was starting to have difficulty with remembering how Tony snorted with a sniff when he woke. Somehow, the sniff was not there anymore. Harry _knew_ he sniffed, but he didn't _know_ the sniff anymore. He forgot the exact sound. Upon realizing that, he had a minor meltdown. He didn't want to forget.

But more and more things seemed to slip. Like Tony's smell. After a week, the Black Sabbath shirt, and the holey AC/DC shirt both had lost Tony's scent. They smelt like Harry now, and he hated it.

There was also a positive side. After the thorough chew-out Harry gave Rhodey, the man had returned to his superiors with Harry's theory. And had been taken seriously, thank god! Rhodey had flown out again the next day, only phoning Harry quickly to explain he was part of the renewed search team. Harry just hoped that they could find anything this time.

George had returned back to England. After two months in the States, he had to return to his shop. It was a shame, only for the fact that he managed to rile Pepper up even faster than Tony could do. he had made it a sport, reluctantly timed by Harry, to do it as fast as possible. Pepper had not been pleased when she found out the game.

McGonagall and Kingsley both kept up correspondence with Harry. They tried to keep his confidence up, his spirit lifted. But it was hard. As time went by, Harry started to fear in his heart that they 1) managed to break him and he was working on his technology under duress for now untill forever or 2) didn't break him, he got cheeky and then got shot and was now rotting in a dinch somewhere. Every time option 2 cropped up in his head, Harry compulsively got in a baking frenzy.

Harry saw Pepper walking in. He waved at her, and motioned to an open spot at the bar. Cleaning out a table of three, that just finished lunched and taking their coffee orders, Harry missed the ringing of her phone. A little bit harder to miss was the "WHAT!" that she screamed at her phone. Harry jumped in surprise. With a smile to the three he was serving he walked back to the bar.

"Pepper?" he asked tentatively. They had become even closer, now that she was in on the magic secret. Pepper made an impatient arm gesture to him, signaling to shut the hell up so she could listen to what was said on the other end of the line.

"Rhodey, are you sure?" she then asked. "Well let me know as soon as you do."

Ending the phone call, she turned to Harry. More hope in her eyes than he had seen in the last two months.

"There was a massive explosion, about an hour out of where the convoy was attacked. They are heading out now. They think it might be Tony, or anyway, Stark technology which can lead to Tony." Harry forced his legs to keep him upright.

"When will they know?" he whispered. He refused to let hope in now. If it turned out to be a hoax, well, meltdown was not a mental state he enjoyed.

"Rhodey's taking a team with two choppers down there now, to look at the explosion sight, and to do an area run around it." she explained, almost hopping on her seat.

"Don't put to much into this Pepper," Harry warned. "For all we know, it is a group of vigilants with some explosive in a goat herders camp or something like that."

Pepper's smile disappeared. With a flash of movement, she hit him over the head. Hard.

"Now you listen to me Harry James Potter! If you keep talking like that I _will_ kick your ass all the way up Stark Mansion. Tie you to his bed, and then when he's back, _you _can explain to him all by yourself exactly _how_ you ended up in that situation!" Pepper ended her rant with another head slap.

Harry rubbed his head wryly. She always complained about Tony, to Tony and himself, but never did she go on a rant like that to him. Or gave Tony slaps on his head. Guess another thing that made him special huh, he thought to himself.

"Alright woman, keep your hair on! I've gotta go on working here. Coffee?" Pepper nodded with a fierce glare in his direction. Harry pretended not to see it and brought the dirty dishes to the back. After dumping them, he stood there clutching his sink. He refused to let this spark of hope in. He finally started to get used to a life without Tony and, although he hated that, he was not going to let a random explosion in Afghanistan, a freaking warzone, become a solid lead on Tony in his mind.

Taking a few deep breaths, he plastered on a smile that not many could discern as fake and went back out. It became his routine. After years of faking it for the Dursleys, his friends, hell the entire wizard world, it wasn't hard to fake it to a cafe full of ignorant people.

After an hour, Pepper had left, but another much less welcome addition to his cafe had entered. Obediah Stane. The man had never set well with Harry. Something about him made his skin crawl. Whether he was a genuine evil man, or simply a creep who liked to try and seduce Tony's man he didn't now. Fact is, that last christmas party (after a huge fight with Tony) Harry had to clock one to the man for inappropriate touching. Obediah – or as Tony always said Obie, had apoligized for maing him uncomfortable. He only had wanted to try and get him in the christmas spirit after the fight with Tony, nothing unseemingly planned. Of course Tony and Pepper had believed him, forcing Harry to accept the apology with as good a grace as possible.

"Harry, my boy!" he intoned, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him into his side.

"Obediah, good to see you," drawled Harry, as in a perfect imitation of Draco Malfoy. He had succesfully avoided the man ever since Tony went missing, only seeing him in the first week.

"So, Pepper told me James maybe found our guy, how 'bout that!" the hand on his arm moved up and down. Harry had to resist the urge of bitch slapping it away.

"They are checking a possible sight Obediah. An explosion that was pretty damn big. But nothing sure." Harry responded carefully. No matter what Tony said about how this man helped him after his parents' deaths, he could and would not trust this man with as much as a knut.

"Well, here's hoping for the best than, right? Right? Can I please get a normal coffee to go from you." Another squeeze of the arm, before finally Harry was released.

"Of course Obediah. Coming right up." Never had Harry made a coffee as quickly as at that moment. He couldn't hold back his sigh of relief when the door closed behind the man's formidable bulk.

* * *

Tony had been walking for what felt like hours. The sun was scorching his skin. He had long ago already taken off the leather jacket and wrapped it around his head to avoid a sun stroke. He was more limping and slumping through the sand, than his normal brisk step. But, hey, he just crashed in a metal body suit after escaping three months of imprisonment by terrorists. If there was any time not to walk fiercely, no it seemed would be that time.

He couldn't believe his ears, when he heard the sound of helicopters coming from behind him. For a second there he believed that the heat and sun truly were getting to him. Closer and closer the sound drew, and he couldn't resist turning around. He cried out joyfully when he actually saw two army helicopters lowly flying over.

"Hey! Oi! HEY!" Tony yelled, frantically waving down the helicopters. He slowed down to a standstill, when the two aircrafts touched down on the sand some hundred meters before him. He sank to his knees when the first person of the helicopter was a very familiar tinted face.

Rhodey came to a stand still a few steps away from Tony. He was shocked by how downtrodden and almost defeated the billionaire looked. But the son of a bitch had done it. He escaped his hell and got himself out of there.

"How was the Funvee?" he asked Tony.

Tony couldn't help it he smiled sardonically at that question. _He was saved. It was over. He was free, he would see everyone again. Rhodey was here. Pepper, Obediah. HARRY._

James Rhodes sank to one knee and grabbed Tony by the shoulder. "Next time you ride with me okay?"

Tony nodded, and fought valiantly against his tears. Why, he mentally wondered. It seemed like a wonderful time to cry. Before he realised it, he was ensconed in Rhodey's embrace. His whole body seem to be permeated with unexpressionable relief. _It. Was. Over._

"I got you." He grabbed Tony more firmly. "I got you."

When Tony was safely in base camp, Rhodey ran to communications.

"Give me a line with this number now," he ordered.

It took a few minutes but finally they managed to get connected.

"Hello," sounded over the line unsurely.

"Hey, it's Rhodes." Rhodey spoke quickly.

"Rhodey? There's news. What is it?" The last question was spoken almost fearfully.

"We've got him he's alive, he's safe. He's coming home." The line went dead after Rhodey spoke those words, the communication officer looked at him questionely.

"Sir, you want to try and reastablish contact?"

"No officer, that won't be necessary. They've got the message just fine." And with a smile on his face, Rhodey left to check up on his best friend.

On the other side of the world, Harry had sank through his knees. His cellphone lying on the floor with the battery scattered. He was holding himself around the waist as tears of relief poured out of his eyes. A joyous laugh, not heard like that in three months, came out of him. He picked himself up and ran to the phone of Marauder's.

He barely managed to hold his fingers still enough to call the familiar number.

"Pepper, it's Harry. Rhodey called, they've got him!" Harry screamed through the line. At this moment nothing else mattered.

Not the fact that his entire cafe had stood up and given a standing ovation, knowing that Tony Stark was saved. Not the champagne that was opened by one of his regulars and thrown all over him like he was an F1 champion.

Not even the owl, that left a parchment envelop with a familiar seal on his doorstep.


	10. Home Sweet Home

**A/N So, very happy here; I'm over the 50,000 views and have more than 800 followers and 500 favorites. So very happy indeed. Feel like I'm back in the flow. Had a really hard time deciding how and when Tony and Harry met up again. Hope you like the end result. **

**As always enjoy the new chapter and review please!**

**Cjb1990**

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_I don't have a lot of time, but figured you wanted to know. Rabastan and Rudolphus LeStrange managed to escape from Azkaban. I'm on my way there now. Keep your guard up, I can only imagine what revenge those two want. _

_Hope you hear from Tony soon!_

_Greetings,_

_Kingsley Shacklebolt_

_Minister of Magic_

Harry had read the short missive many times. Still the message seemed as unbelievable as it had been the first time he read it.

After the cafe had cooled down somewhat, and the champagne had been cleaned up, Harry had seen the letter on his doormat. Seeing the Ministry of Magic seal, Harry had fretted that they found out where he lived. But the short letter turned out to be from Kingsley. He already knew where he lived, but the news in it was most disconcerting. How on earth did the two brothers escape? Harry could only be glad that Bellabitch was killed by Molly, or he had had that crazy-ass woman on the loose as well.

Harry sighed, his life was once so quiet and peaceful. It seemed like Fate had found out where he had moved to. First Tony, now this... Harry realized he had to tell Tony about magic pretty soon. If he didn't, and those two caught up with him... He could only shudder at the thought of the actions the brothers would inflict on Harry Potter's muggle lover.

He shook his head to dispell the thoughts out of his mind. Now was not the time to think about this. He was waiting at an airstrip outside of Malibu for the plane that held said lover. Pepper was standing next to him, with Happy a few feet behind them.

He had a hard time to believe that Tony was almost home, that in a few short moments he could wrap his arms around the man, kiss him on the mouth, smell the scent that was pure _Tony_. The scent of oil that seemed to cling to his skin after all the hours he spent down in his workshop in his life. The musky hints that came from himself. The expensive cologne that didn't mask all this, but accentuated it all perfectly.

A low roar sounded over the falt lands that surrounded the airstrip. In the distance Harry could distinguish a spot that grew larger and larger. Harry grabbed Pepper's hand, he could hardly contain himself. Next to him Pepper smiled, her eyes were red because of the tears shed in joy for her boss' return. When Harry had called her and yelled the news at her through the phone, she had broke down in tears. Happy, assuming the worst, had run to her. But when told the news, Pepper had spotted his (literal) leaps of happiness and the small victory dance he did in honor of his employer.

Now the three were waiting with baiting breath for the plane that was now a distinguishable shape in the clear blue sky. Just a few more minutes. Just a few more minutes. It was a chant in Harry's head to prevent him to apparate directly on the army cargo plane to see for himself that he was really coming home.

Finally after what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes, the plane touched down. When the plane opened up, he saw Tony and Rhodey against the black of the interior. He was wearing a black suit and his arm was in a sling. But his face. He was the same, yet he was not. There was a hardness in there that belied the rest of his relaxed pose. His unwounded arm was gripped firmly in Rhodey's grasp.

"Watch your step," he heard Rhodey say to him. He walked with tiny steps, in contradiction to his firm and brisk walk he normaly employed. Every little detail screamed at Harry with maximum volume. Harry felt his eyes water. He was here, right? He was here and everything was going to be okay.

Suddenly Harry broke out of his stupor and walked towards the plane. He came to the end of the ramp as Tony was waving away the stretcher that was waiting for him. They all came to a stand still at the bottom of the ramp. Harry was feasting his eyes on the face he missed so much, like a parched man who found a water source in the middle of the desert.

"You're... you're here. You're really here," he gasped, he couldn't seem to get enough air in his lungs. He didn't dare to touch him, afraid he would be nothing more than a mirage, like his parents in the Mirror of Erised so long ago.

"Gorgeous, I missed you so much," Tony murmered. This seemed to be the cue Harry was waiting for as he jumped towards Tony and wrapped his arms around his waist and burried his face into the muscular chest. He was smaller, skinnier. But then again, that was to be expected. But he was tangible, his unhurt arm pulling him closer into his body. He could smell him, feel his breath, his chest. He could hear his heartbeat, and a humming?

* * *

Tony could not believe it. He was home, he had Harry in his arms. He was not there anymore. He put his face in Harry's hair and took in the unique scent. It made his feelings of being home that much more grounded in reality. That smell was chasing away the nightmare that his extended stay in cave deluxe in Afghanistan had been.

He could still hear Yinsen's voice in his head, telling him to make it count. To make sure that he should never let Harry go. And he wasn't planning on it. But there seemed to be an insurmountable distance between them. How could Harry ever understand what he went through? The fear that had been eating at him all these months, not knowing when they thought he was taking to long and take a bullet to his head? Knowing that every refusal was met with more pain on his behalf.

Even Harry, with his dark past full of pain and abuse, could not understand what it was like. He did not know how to go on the way they were. With Harry in his arms now, all he wanted to feel was connected and safe. But he could not relax his body around his lover, could not seem to make his body understand that this was _Harry_. But he would overcome this. He was Anthony goddamn Stark and he was a genius. He'll figure it out.

But why did that little voice in his head sound less confident than he hoped?

After several minutes Harry released Tony. He looked over at Pepper.

"Your eyes are red. Shed tears for your long lost boss?" He knew he was defensive and his tone too flippant.

Pepper smiled at him. "Tears of joy. I hate jobhunting."

Tony nodded but didn't smile back. "Yeah, vacation is over."

Harry frowned behind his back. Tony was distant, not the same he used to be before Afghanistan with Pepper. They always shared more than just a working relationship, it was a true friendship. But this exchange was cold. What the hell happened to him?

They piled in the back of the Rolls Royce, with Happy behind the weel.

"Where to sir?" Happy asked.

"Take us to the hospital," Pepper directed.

"No." Tony immediately said.

"No? Tony you need to be checked out." Pepper tried to persuade him.

"I don't have to do anything. I have been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other thing-"

"You have to be with Harry for that one Tony," Pepper cut in.

"Stop it, I want you to schedule a press conference," the mention of sex with Harry did not get one response out of Tony. Harry hid a flinch. He tried not to drown in the feelings of rejection. Tony was right, he was just back out of three months of captivity, he would not want any sex at the moment. He needed a chance to recuperate and unload his mind and heart.

Harry, however, would not let Tony's health be pushed aside that easily.

"Fine, Pepper schedule a press conference and Happy; take us to a Burger King drive through. But Tony, if you're not going to the hospital; you _are _going to be checked out by a physician. I will not take any chances regardless of what you want." Harry nodded to Happy.

Tony frowned, he didn't want anybody to see his arc reactor when they didn't have to. It was a life or death piece of mechanical engineering, he did not want anybody to have access to his weakness outside his circle of trusted friends.

Before he had a chance to protest, Harry held up his hand. "Please Tony, if not for your own sake then do it for mine. It would give me peace of mind."

"Can't we let JARVIS do a complete health check? If there is something wrong, I promise to go to a doctor." Tony negotiated. Harry shook his head in exasperation.

"Fine! I swear to God Tony, one day I'll cure you from paranoia against the medical professionals!"

Tony let out an undetectable sigh of relief. Harry didn't suspected anything beyond his weird suspicions against medical personnel.

After a pit stop at Burger King, where they ordered an obscene amount of cheese burgers (that were happily devoured by Tony) they drove to Stark Industries. Pepper had been on the phone non-stop to organise the press conference. By the amount of photographers and journalists that surrounded the entrance of the building, Harry would say that she had succesfully completed her mission.

In front of all the press stood Obediah Stane. Harry could not hide his shudder at the sight of the man. Tony looked at him.

"You know, he really is a good man. You should get over this weird aversion of yours," he snarked. Harry felt like he was slapped. He just needs to adjust, he chanted in his head. He just got back, he's still got his shields and defenses up, just like when they first met. Before they've started going out, before they knew each other better. But still, it was a jab to the heart.

Ignoring those feelings, Harry nodded and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Go get them champ!" he encouraged Tony.

He stepped out of the car without further acknowledgement to Harry. He immediately was accosted by Obediah and the army of piranhas. Pepper shot him an apologetic look, and followed after him. Happy had already left the car and held the army of camera man at a distance. Harry looked out og the window and saw them disappear into the building.

* * *

"... and I saw that I had become part of a system that was comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr. Stark, what happened out there?" a journalist asked him.

"I-I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why effective immediately I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries, until such a time that I can decide what the future of this company is-" here Tony was cut off by Obediah taking over the microphone.

"What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever, and we'll have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you." Tony walked away from the press.

The room fell into chaos. Harry was sitting in the car, following the broadcast live on the tablet he was holding. He understood Tony, he'll he had the same kind of feelings right after the war. The feeling of guilt and doubt, the deaths of others heavy on his heart. He still had those feelings, he was guilty after all. Guilty of Teddy growing up without his parents, guilty of the Weasley's having to live one without Fred. Guilty of young and Little Colin Creevey never having been able to grow up and graduate.

Snape, Colin, Remus and Tonks, George, Sirius, Dumbledore, Cedric. Yes Harry understood his lover quite well. And he was proud that Tony dared to make such a move, that no doubt will cost him a lot of money on the market. His company shares would get in a free fall no doubt.

After a bit longer, Pepper emerged out of the chaos, but no Tony.

She slid back in the car.

"Tony is having a little discussion with Obediah, we're meeting him at the manor. His stunt, well, it certainly didn't make Obediah's job easier." Pepper explained.

Harry nodded wordlessly. At home, Tony could drop all his defenses, and Harry would be able to just hold him, ensure himself that Tony was back.

At the house, Harry immediately went to the kitchen to start preparations for dinner. Pepper disappeared into the living room, where she flicked on the television and grabbed her tablet, laptop and phone. Showtime.

Dinner time came and still Tony wasn't home. Harry hadn't appeared out of the kitchen and by the sounds of it, was trying to distract himself of the fact that Tony hadn't come home yet. Pepper was starting to lose her patience. Yes, she understood that Tony must've had a terrible three months; but he needed to be here. She picked up her phone and dialed his number.

"Yeah?" she heard.

"Tony, where are you," she urged.

"I'm at Stark Industries, looking into the arc reactor a bit more." she heard by the tone in which he spoke he was busy.

"Yeah well, how about coming home for dinner, Harry's waiting on you," Pepper asked him.

"I'm not going to make it home in time, tell him I'm sorry okay?" without another word, he disconnected the call. Pepper looked at her phone incredulously. She could not believe that man! And now she was the one who had to bear the bad news to Harry. She did not like the feeling this created one bit. He was pushing Harry away, but why? He had proven himself not afraid of the snarking, sarcastic, narcissistic and infuriating person that was her boss.

"Harry?" She called out tentatively.

He stuck his head around the corner. "Yeah Pepper? Tony on his way?" But she did not need to say anything to him, he could see it clearly written all over her face. He sighed and nodded.

"Well, enjoy the meal. I'm going to go home, call Minerva to bring the happy news." He picked up his jacket, and with a kiss on her cheek, left.

* * *

Pepper was still sitting at the kitchen table and it was past midnight. She had eaten her fill of the delicious meal Harry had made. It consisted of all Tony's favourites. Finally, she heard the tell tale greeting of JARVIS by the front door. She rose from her seat.

Tony walked into the house. He was dead tired, but didn't dare to sleep. The horrors he had witnessed and experienced were still to much on the front of his brain. He made his way towards the kitchen, there was a bottle of whiskey there with his name on it.

He was unpleasantly surprised to see Pepper at his kitchen table, with her face being alike a thunder cloud. Without a word she stood up and opened the oven. She took out a plate filled with food and put in front of where he stood. Tony's heart clinched painfully, it was clear Harry had made it. The smell alone was so enticing, he felt his mouth water. Pepper pushed him down in a seat, still not speaking.

"Ms Potts, what are you still doing here?" Tony asked with a flim layer of politeness. He wanted to be alone.

She didn't answer him. Instead she raised her voice.

"JARVIS, play the audio and video of the kitchen conversation of me and Harry the day after mr Stark's disappearance." She didn't even look at her boss.

Tony made to stand up, but was pushed down into his chair quite harshly.

"No Tony, you're going to sit there and you're going to see exactly what you've left behind. And then try to convince me that he doesn't understand." Pepper finally addressed him

The tv at the back wall sprung to life. Tony looked at the screen dispassionately.

He saw Harry walking in, looking like he had died five times over. Surprisingly, he didn't make his way to the stove, but clenched the sink hardly. Even on the security camera, he could easily see that Harry was shaking like a leaf.

Suddenly Pepper walked into the frame, embracing the man from behind. He heard her trying the reassure Harry that he'll survive. Then came the surprise.

"_You don't get it Pepper. They didn't want him dead. That means that they want his mind, or his money. His money, I could care less about. Losing the company for his life, is something Tony could handle as well. But what if they want his mind, Pepper? His knowledge? How far will they go to get what they want?" _

Tony's breath hitched. He realized that Harry had lived these three months, knowing exactly what was happening to him in that god forsaken cave. Helpless, not able to do anything about the fact, but still knowing.

Pepper didn't relent. "JARVIS play the sequence between Rhodey and Harry please."

Tony tried to escape again, but Pepper refused to let him leave. Maybe it wasn't fair to her boss, but by god! She was not going to let him destroy Harry with his self-deprecating tendencies, his inability to keep emotional connections.

Rhodey's voice came floating into the kitchen off of the television.

"_Look Harry, I want to believe Tony is still alive. You know I do. but frankly I'm not so sure anymore. And it breaks my heart, it does."_

Tony watched as Harry's face distorted. And then witnessed how Harry teared Rhodey a new one.

"_You guys at the Army are all idiots. Morons! What was Tony doing in Afghanistan, huh? Introducing a completely new missile system. Not an improvement, but actually a completely different missile. Why would they want ransom, or let anyone know who's got him. If they can convince him to build the thing, they can fight back against you guys!"_

Tony didn't know what to say. They had given up on him, well almost, but still. People had believed him dead. But not Harry, he had refused to believe it. And had made sure that people kept looking for him. What if he hadn't? Would the army choppers have been on time? He did not like to think that they wouldn't have, but he was near a heat stroke when they had picked him up. Severe dehydration had been a few hours away.

"Gods," he choked.

"Now, you are going to eat his food. Then, Happy is going to drive you over to Marauders'. And you are going to make sure to Harry that this does not change one thing between them. Tony, he was catatonic when I told him. He literally sank through his legs on to the pavement." Tony could only nod. Seeing the footage JARVIS had made of Harry in the house, his conversations with both Pepper and Rhodey, it drove home that Harry had had three months in hell as well. Granted, a different one than his, but still.

And physical pain, fear. Well, those were concepts that Harry knew, didn't he? Was that not what his entire childhood had consisted of?

Without a word of protest, he dove into the delicious meal.

In his appartment, Harry had thrown a letter to Minerva in the floo system. He was not in any state to speak to the witch face-to-face without her knowing there was something wrong. Nor could he be sure that if he did talk to her, she would not go over to Tony's and rip him a new one.

He fell onto his bed, not bothering changing into his pyjamas. Without bothering to try and stem the flow of tears.

Yes, Tony had come home. He was safe. But how much of _his_ Tony was still in the man?

* * *

**So, maybe a bit darker than I initially had planned. But I realized that three months of captivity, with quite heavy torture, would mae it more difficuly for a man like Tony to dare show his emotional ties to anyone. Please review!**

**Next chapter; make-up between the two, and maybe the M-Talk!**


	11. Eggshells are meant to be broken

**A/N: okay wow! I'm amazed at the positive feedback I got for the last chapter. It made me very happy (duuuh). Sorry this chapter took a few days longer. I am due my midterm papers this week so had to write this around those. And sometimes, you have written so much for university, you cannot stand to put another word on paper that's how tired you are. So anyway, here is chapter 11. And yes, no worries, it has a happy ending (sort of). **

**So as always, enjoy your reading and please review! It gives me confidence boosts!**

**cjb1990**

* * *

Harry groaned as he woke up. A look around the room told him that he had fallen asleep on top of his bed, still in his clothes. A quick glance out of his bedroom window showed him it was still night time. The dark didn't seem oppressing, Harry rather welcomed it. It was a perfect representation of his mood.

Tony had changed. He didn't like it and he certainly was hurt by it, but it was understandable. How much did he change after that night in the graveyard all those years ago? And again when he heard Hermione scream at the hands of Bellatrix LeStrange? Or when… but he refused to think of that last part, no. He would not think about that! It had been the most terrifying week of his life.

He recalled his own therapy sessions. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, his Mind Healer had diagnosed him with. He knew what it meant for him. Difficulty to trust people, even those close to him. Sexually dysfunction (and thank the lord he got over that one; Tony had a _very_ healthy libido). Night terrors, low self-esteem. How had his Mind Healer explained it to him: _"because of the experiences in the war, you've come to identify yourself with your torturers. Not only those physically, but those who manipulated you as well. Playing into certain baser needs, and aspects of your character, they've managed to demean yourself in your mind from the individual you are to a lesser being needed to follow their orders, welcoming their pain."_

Sure, he had a lot longer time period to come to peace with. But Tony probably had much more intensive experiences to get over with. He _needed_ to get him into therapy. Harry wanted to laugh at himself. Getting Tony into therapy would prove just as impossible as inventing that broom going to Jupiter.

He was distracted from his thoughts by his doorbell. Wondering who it could be, Harry walked downstairs mind still full of Tony and therapy and PTSD. Therefore, it came as a surprise to see the object of his thoughts standing in front of his door, with the well-known black car with Happy behind the wheel behind him.

"Tony," he breathed surprised.

"Hey," he answered. "Can I come in?" It was clear Tony expected to be rejected. Without a word Harry opened the door further and took a step back. In silence the two entered the apartment. Harry threw himself on the corner of the couch, leaving a chair near the fireplace and the rest of the couch open. He could see the hesitation in Tony's eyes. He sighed mentally, yes well that was clearly the first sign.

"Sit anywhere you like, what place do you pick?" he asked softly. It was the same trick his own healer had performed on him. Giving him back the autonomy of choice, without any contribution. Tony looked at him, clearly trying to see what the cost of either seat will be. In the end, he decided on the chair. Harry noted it was the seat that surrounded Tony completely, no other person nearby, back to the wall, and closest to the exit.

The both remained silent. Harry looking Tony straight into the eyes, well at least trying to do so. Tony kept evading his stare, as if he was scared to meet his eyes.

Eventually Harry broke the silence. "Pepper dragged you out by the ear then?" it was a light-hearted comment, meant to break the ice.

Tony flinched, feeling accusations in the comment. He supposed it was to be expected. He finally was back with the green-eyed gorgeous man, only to be snarky and aloof all day. He knew it had been too good to be true. Him, a functioning monogamist relation? It was doomed to crash and burn. But still, he owed it to the man to be here and end it decently. After all, what could the baker want with a broken merchant of death?

"Yeah," he chuckled shakily, not convincing Harry for a second. "I guess she did, huh?"

"Well, what was the reason our red headed spitfire decided that you needed to be here instead of recuperating in your own bed?" Harry could take a pretty accurate guess about what was going on in the billionaire's mind, and he would be damned before he let the man do what he thought was right.

"Apparently, she did not like that I didn't come home for dinner. And well, I supposedly treated you like trash all day." He had a flippant tone, just like he had in the car.

"If there ever was an excuse for your behavior, I think you have the cornerstone on that market." Harry supplied. He didn't contradict the statement, Tony had been terrible to him today, and it had hurt him. But still, he knew where it was coming from and he decided he needed to clip Pepper a few around her ears with a leaflet of PTSD symptoms.

Silence ruled again between them. It was a terrible feeling, this tension in the air. Never had there been awkward silences between the two. There had been insults, threats, transparent innuendos and animalistic fights. But silence was never a part of their relation.

"Anyway, sorry I was such an ass today. Don't know what was wrong with me," Tony was absolutely determined to not show Harry how difficult it was to sit here. Harry snorted at him and raised his eyebrow at him.

"Really Tony? You want to play _that_ game?" he asked sarcastically. Tony didn't respond. "Fine, then we'll play that game, Tony. You wanted to know what was wrong with you, that you acted the way you did today? It could not in any way have something to do with the fact that you have been captured by a terrorist group for _three months_. It certainly cannot be related to the pain they, no doubt, inflicted on you when you at first refused to do as they said. Or the lives you had to take to get out of there. No, really, that would be too far-fetched to be even considered." Harry's tone was derisive.

Tony had looked up during Harry's talking down. He saw the unshed tears in his eyes, and the concern seemed to be emanating out of the man's every pore. But god! How could he even let himself do that to Harry! He was not a man who easily trusted, but now he saw betrayal around every fucking corner. When he left, JARVIS had bid him farewell, and he had freaking jumped out of his skin!

But Harry wasn't done yet. "You have spent three months in hell on earth, with probably no one around you that had _your_ best interest at hart. You couldn't trust anyone! Everyone around you wanted to kill you, isn't that right! And you think, knowing all that, I would run away because you can't turn the switch around the second you returned!"

Harry forced his voice not to raise to louder volumes. It was hard, he wanted to shake the man till he understood that it was all okay. That it was normal what he was feeling. But that wouldn't work.

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. Everything Harry said was true, but could he trust the younger man to keep to his word? He had heard more empty promises in his life, and especially in Afghanistan, than he wanted to admit even to himself. He could not deal with this right now. He had to go. Without a word to Harry, he jumped up and walked out again.

Harry was left alone in his living room. Well, that went splendid, he thought to himself angrily. Oh, how he wished to get his revenge on the people who hurt him. But they were in a part of the world where that wasn't even a possibility, never mind the consequences of said revenge. He already saw the interrogation with the British Ministry.

"_So, any reason why the Savior of Britain decided to pop up again and murder a bunch of Muggles in Afghanistan?"_

"_Well, Auror, it's simple. They dared to capture, torture and damage my lover Tony Stark. So I thought that magical torture to get back at them was a perfectly reasonable reaction to that."_

Harry snorted, he would be proclaimed as the next Dark Lord within the hour. A poof one at that, to be eradicated as quickly as possible. Or Azkaban, in the only cell with Dementors in front of it.

He needed to break through the shell that Tony had erected around him. He understood that it was all consequences of his capture, but in his heart Harry was scared that he lost Tony forever to the deserts of Afghanistan. A new determination shone in his eyes. He was not the one to give up on his loved ones, and by Gaia, he would not start now. He would get Tony back.

* * *

Tony was sitting in the back of his car, been driven home by Happy. He couldn't breathe, in Harry's apartment it felt like the walls were closing in on him. He didn't understand, Harry's place was always something like a safe haven for him. A place where nothing else existed but the two of them. But when he was in there, there was so much with them in the room. All the issues, the questions, the memories; they had been like an ocean between him and Harry.

He knew that he was tainted. Hell, he already was tainted before he went to Afghanistan. Harry had been pissed that he went, almost begged him not to go, to let Obie take this one. He had went anyway. He had felt like he had to, he was the face _and_ the brain of his business. He was the one that needed to show up at this sort of happenings.

And then he was taken. And, of course, he knew that it wasn't his fault. But it was his fault that he had been there in the first place, right? And then everything he had seen, had been through. Hell, how could he ever deserve someone like Harry ever again? No, it would end; messy at that. Best to not rely on anything anymore. He did so with Yinsen, and he died on him. He could not save him. So best to be on his own, so nobody could hurt him like that ever again.

Back at his mansion, he locked himself in his workshop. His design of escape was a crude one, but one with immense potential. But he did not want it to fall in the wrong hands. He had seen what his weapons could do in those wrong hands, and he would never allow that to happen ever again. He immersed himself in his work and his designs, not caring about his company, about Harry, about anything else but somehow making his debt and guilt a bit lighter.

* * *

The morning after came much too early for Harry. He needed to open up shop, but he felt only like burying himself deeper in his bed and not show his face until everything was normal again. With a lot of effort, he managed to get himself in the shower. Soon he immersed himself in the preparations for the day in his kitchen. Before he realized it, it was time to open up. With a sigh he lit up the front room and unlocked the doors. Within fifteen minutes, the first morning rush had arrived.

Pepper stepped into Marauders'. As expected, Harry was flitting in between the tables and serving all his customers with his usual smile. But al Pepper saw was the pale face, and the dark rings under his eyes. It told her all she needed to know. Talking with Tony last night had not been a success. She knew that when she arrived at Tony's, she would find him in his workshop where he'd have been working all night.

Walking up to the counter, she met Harry half way.

"Morning Pepper! The usual for just you? Or also for Tony and Happy?" Harry prayed that Pepper would not ask how it went last night and what happened. He was not up to that, and frankly would not be in any near future.

"For the three please, Harry. Busy morning for you, isn't it?" Pepper was indeed itching to question Harry, but decided that her boss would get the third degree. Harry was her genuine friend, who had a lot to deal with right now. Okay, her boss also had enough on his plate, but… Oh hell! She already put him through the ringer last night, he was just returned from hell. So, she could not do anything. This frustrated her, she was a woman of action. Not being able to act when Tony was missing, she felt like this was the time where she could fix him. But it seemed, it would not be that easy for her.

Not another word was spoken between them, while Harry fixed Pepper her coffees. With a swift smile and a 'have a good day Pep' he left her standing at the counter and disappeared back in his crowd to serve, and more importantly; not to think.

Tony did not emerge from his workshop when Pepper walked in the mansion. Quickly she went downstairs and, tapping in her security code, walked in to the shop.

"JARVIS kill the music," she shouted over the Black Sabbath that was blearing through the sound system. In the silence that followed, Tony turned to the door. Seeing Pepper standing there with a cup of coffee, he stood up straight from the table he had been bending over not a second ago.

"Thank you, ms Potts," he greeted her with the usual words, taking the coffee from her. With the first sip, he immediately knew it came from Harry. Even his coffee was distinctive. He forced the sudden lump from his throat. Sure he would miss him, like crazy, but he needed to end it. But God, he already had to force away lumps at the guy's coffee.

"Tony, uhm.." Pepper uncharacteristically hesitated and stuttered. Tony looked up at her to see an unsure look flit around her face. After a second it was replaced by a fierce glint in her eyes. Tony recognized the look as her 'you're-going-to-tell-me-exactly-what-I-want-to-kn ow-or-else' face. He could not help but be amused. Trust Pepper not to give up her warpaths when she saw him stray somewhere.

"How did it go last night," she asked him softly.

"Fine, swell, thanks," Tony answered. He was not going to tell Pepper that he needed to end things with Harry. He liked his reproductive system were it was on his body, thank you very much.

Pepper recognized deflection when it was applied, but didn't know whether to push on or not. With an internal sigh, she went through her list of what was needed of him. Which was not much, Obie had decided (with Tony) that he was laying low. That meant that there were no media appearances necessary. Just get Tony back on his feet, that was the length of Obediah's instructions.

* * *

At the end of the day, Harry was cleaning his kitchen. Although he had been cleaning the entire interior of Marauders' for a few hours, Harry was almost compulsorily keeping on cleaning. Even his storing room had been cleaned from top to bottom. He needed the quiet to figure some things out. Mostly how he was going to handle Tony. But he needed to keep his hands busy, or he would literally go crazy.

When he finally put his cleaning supplies down, it was already gone eleven pm. But he had a plan. Granted, it was an insane plan, but a plan nonetheless. He hoped that sharing his secret would help Tony see that he trusted him with everything about himself. Plus, he kind of needed to tell him as soon as possible. With Rabastan and Rodulphus out of Azkaban, he needed to have the people around him on sharp.

He closed Marauders' and got into his rarely used car. Mostly Tony knew when he had to go somewhere, and had Happy or another Stark Industries' driver drive him around in a company car. He had bought his car in a bout of ironic nostalgia. The bright red Mini Cooper was shining in his garage.

When he arrived at Tony's house, the gate was closed. Opening his window, Harry spoke.

"JARVIS, it's me Harry. Can you please open up?" Harry always wondered if Tony had actually programmed feelings in the AI. He'd decided early on not to chance it and be polite to the British accented machine.

"Certainly, mr Potter, and may I say that it is a pleasure to see you with a smile on your face, sir." With those words the gates opened for Harry.

"Thank you, JARVIS."

Harry let himself into the house. The lights were on, the waterfall at the staircase as well. But nowhere a sign of life.

Guessing that Tony was in the workshop, he made his way down to Tony's Valhalla. Halfway down the stairs, he could hear the telltale music coming from the workshop.

Harry had been given his own security code for the shop as a six months anniversary present. He could still vividly recall his confusion over being given a small piece of paper with a numeric code on it. But he understood what it meant; he was trusted with something that meant everything to Tony .

He saw Tony sitting at a work table in the far corner. Dummy and You were close by. The two helper robots perked up when he entered the room. The two always seemed overly attached to him, something that he could not grasp.

The music in the room was deafening. He knew that Pepper always killed it, as soon as she entered a room, but Harry couldn't bring himself to do the same. Tony had not yet noticed him entering, and Harry couldn't be sure if JARVIS had announced his presence.

For now, he was content looking at the man he loved working at his newest project. It was some fine mechanic he was working on, with his precision tools scattered all over the work surface. He missed moments like these, above all else. There was a quiet happiness that always existed in these moments. Before, Harry had spent many evenings watching Tony engrossed in his work. 80s music over the speaker, not talking just sitting and watching.

Tony seemed to suddenly feel that he was not alone anymore. Harry could clearly see the moment Tony realized someone was in the room with him. All the muscles in his back tensed up. His head dipped an inch into his chest, neck shortening.

"JARVIS, mute the music please," Tony spoke, his voice terse. He still didn't turn around.

"Tony, easy, it's just me." Harry purposefully kept his voice calm and soft.

He knew from experience, that loud voices equaled a feeling of danger. He had been the same after he had come back when he was fourteen. Then fifteen, sixteen, seventeen. Hell, he still sometimes had involuntary flinches that came from unexpected loud voices or sounds. Guess that was to be expected when you had lived through a war at the front lines.

Slowly, o so slowly, Tony turned around on the stool. He seemed unable to look Harry in the eyes. But Harry would not let him get away again. He could not escape to his own house, or Happy waiting with the car.

"Tony, please look at me." Tony looked him in the eyes. Harry saw everything there that he expected.

"You Tony, are not weak. You're not tainted, and you are still worth everything that we had before. You are still the same wonderful, narcissistic man that I fell in love with. You would still wrap your car around a telephone pole to get me agree to go out with you. You are the one, who broke into my store room to get flour for an unusual proposal for a date."

Harry had a lot of trouble not to let the tears be recognizable in his voice. His voice was even, and still with the soft tones.

"You survived, persevered, where other, weaker men would have given up. You didn't choose death, you didn't choose betrayal of everything you believe in. You managed to find a third way; you cut the wire. And I'm so proud of you." Harry didn't manage to keep the tears out of his eyes, and let them fall freely on his face. Tony's eyes turned glassy.

"But this," Harry waved widely with his arms. "This, I cannot let this happen. You are not going to push me away, because I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here, and you can lock me out, put me on JARVIS' black list, and still you wouldn't push me away. Because I love you, and I don't care what you had to do to come back to me. Because you _came_ back to me. And I'll take you, however you are now, I'll take all of you."

Harry couldn't possibly go on. His throat felt constricted with the tightest noose. But it seemed enough. He saw the shutters lift in Tony's eyes. The fear laid out in the open. Without hesitation Harry walked to Tony, and finally, brought him in his arms.

Tony, who was profoundly astonished by Harry's speech, couldn't contain his emotions anymore. At the feel of Harry's arms around him, supporting him, warming him, making him feel safe and untouchable; he broke. He dove deep into Harry's chest with his head, trying to get closer to the warmth that Harry had always promised with his smile and his voice.

With a sob, he started crying. Not the silent, steady stream of tears that was a manly to cry. No, with heaving sobs and cracking voice, he tried to find himself behind all the crap that was stowed upon him in those caves.

"Ssht, it's okay. Let it all go Tony. I've got you. I'm not going to hurt, you're safe here. Cry, let it all go." Murmuring on and on, Harry held Tony tightly and rocked him back and forth on the stool while Tony seemingly cried three months worth of pain and hurt and angst out.

After what seemed like an eternity for the two, Tony composed himself and loosened his hold on Harry. Harry leaned back from the embrace to look Tony in the eye. Absentmindedly, he wiped away the tear tracks on his face with soft fingers. He couldn't help but smile. Tony, _his_ Tony, was still in there. It would take time, but he didn't care. He was still there.

"So, now that we established that I will stalk you for a change… Care to explain why your chest is lit up like a torch?" Harry lightly interrogated him.

Tony looked down to the reactor in his chest, and took a quick glance at the one he was working on lying on the table. He took a deep breath to get his voice under his control. Then in a low voice, void of the enthusiasm he normally expressed at another genius' invention of him, he started to explain how the arc reactor came to be at its spot in its chest.

Standing there, with Tony leaning into him, arms around Tony, Harry carefully and quietly listened to the horrors that made up Tony's story of the arc reactor.

* * *

**And that concludes chapter 11. Next chapter, I promise!, is Tony's introduction to magic.**


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